... For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love. 1Cor.13:6-13 ASV
For now we see, as though through a mirror
[a mirror made of polished metal plate,
well bronze that’s beaten - sil-ver was dearer -
by hammers; smiths would try to make it straight]!
When tarnish then corrodes with green or black,
the mirrors would show “darkly” when you looked.
The world within the mirror would be stacked
with many things unclear-er than if took
to eye-balling the people or the world
around you, without mirror in-between.
For who knows Love (that’s not just has been told
about it) are like children who’ve been weaned*:
they look to see their mother not just for
what they can get from her - like their next feed,
but love’s awakened something that’s much more;
they recognize her face, not just their need.
When starting to know her, not just the facts
about her, her child’s starting to be real,
to know some of her secret thoughts, & acts,
her motives and commitments, how she feels…
This childlike knowledge (diff’rent from “child-ish”),
the kind of knowledge God has now of us,
is more concerned with knowing someone's wish,
& recognizing them - without much fuss.
But “darkly” also meant in parable,
enigma, puzzle, figure, mystery.
Though followers of Christ seem gullible,
the crucial, central figure here is HE.
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