THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
A crown of thorns adorn my head,
I am your King. For you I’ve bled,
for you I’ve tasted pain and death,
exhaling ‘Abba’ in my breath.
Death lost its power. I slipped
miraculously from its grip –
for neither Hades, not the night
are able to retain my Light.
The deepest darkness can’t conceal
the one who can give life and heal.
I am your Saviour. Behold,
I am the Light of the World,
I’m standing at your closed door
which never opened before.
The hinges rusted, grass untamed
surrounds it. Your soul, maimed,
has lost its simple inner trust,
but, from today on, you must
unbolt and let me in. I knock,
although no latch, no lock
can ever keep me outside;
no gate, no fence, no wall can hide
your shrinking body from my view –
I am your God. I want that you
could make at last your own choice
and upon hearing my voice
without hiding anything
could welcome me. I am your King.
by Albina Kumirova
(inspired by the Pre-Raphaelite painting with the same title by William Holman Hunt)
About ALBINA KUMIROVA
I am an artist and a poet, writing both in English and in Russian (https://www.stihi.ru/avtor/albinakumirova).
Born in the middle of Russia in 1960, I was living from the age of three in Far East of Russia – on the North of the Sakhalin Island.
There I started to write my first poems. When I published my works in the local press, I was spotted by the Sakhalin writers’ organisation and invited to participate in their conferences and trips around Sakhalin town with public readings of poetry.
Then I spent a few years in Moscow, studying French in Moscow Pedagogical University. During Perestroika period I became one of the first street artists on Moscow’s Arbat Street (equivalent of Montmartre in Paris).
Following my marriage to an English man in 1988, I moved to the United Kingdom.
My interest for God was gradually growing. I saw that Jesus was real not only through learning about Him in Christian literature but also through my personal experiences of prayers answered and even seeing my leg being healed the moment when the doctors pronounced it not healable. I was baptized in 2002.
After my family breakdown I studied art in Wirral Metropolitan College and graduated in 2014 from Liverpool John Moore University with BA (1st Class) in Fine Art. These studies provided an opportunity to explore unhealthy trends in contemporary art, against which I expressed protests from a Christian point of view through performances, short films, and essays.
Most of my poetry carries a Christian imprint on them.
FURTHER READING
Easter Poems:
When I say… “I am a Christian”
At the Foot of the Cross an Easter Poem