Joe Jared

Watermark Sonnets Joe Jared

As the subtitle indicates, this collection of sonnets is a product of meditation on a valuable object, the Bible. As such, it exposes timeless jewels of wisdom in the concise confines of Spenserian sonnets. The title, Watermark Sonnets, alludes to hidden designs such as one finds in dollar bills. When you hold them up to a light, you may find faint designs used to prevent counterfeiting. Likewise, these poems contain hidden patterns that may be discovered by close observation. Whether the sonnets are skillful and pleasing is secondary to the discovery of truth from Holy Scripture. The Bible was written by about forty writers in three different languages on three different continents over a period of 1500 years, and, nevertheless, it has a harmony that points to coordination by a Being who transcends time. Psalm 1 promises that one who delights in the law of the Lord and who meditates on it day and night will flourish like a tree planted by streams of water. Such a person will have a fruitful life. This is one of the great and precious promises of Scripture. There is only one way to find out for yourself: meditate, taste, chew, swallow, and find times of refreshing in your soul. These poems spring from the author's meditation on Scripture.