“I am".

“I am”, grammatically speaking, is the first person singular present tense of the verb to be and is also generally recognised as the shortest complete sentence in the English language. But it has the potential to be more powerful than this simple description.

 René Descartes, the 16^th/17^th century philosopher, mathematician, and philosopher famously declared in his Principles of Philosophy, “cogito ergo sum”,  which translates as “I think, therefore I am".

So, this takes us beyond a simple matter of grammar to the idea that we are thinking beings.  Although we seldom use the sentence, ”I am”, except perhaps in the context of I exist, we do use it in the way we express ourselves as to who we are and what we believe – I am happy, I am sad, or I am in charge here! It takes us to the heart of our character.

 Poets and writer have long wrestled with how best this idea might be used in their works.

 The first poem I have chosen is one of John Clare’s.

Clare, one of the so-called Romantic Poets, is also fondly remembered as “The Northamptonshire peasant poet”.  He had a troubled life and spent the last years of his life in Northampton General Lunatic Asylum (see Note 1 below).

In his powerful poem, simply and appropriately  titled,  “I Am!”, he expresses his (the speaker’s)  struggle with depression, loneliness, and a desire to find peace in Heaven.  You can almost feel the pathos, with just a touch of self-pity, which is  unsurprising as Clare was in the Northampton hospital when he wrote the poem.

            I Am !  (by John Clare – written in 1844/45) –see Note 2

I am - yet what I am none cares or knows; 

My friends forsake me like a memory lost: 

I am the self-consumer of my woes— 

They rise and vanish in oblivious host, 

Like shadows in love’s frenzied stifled throes 

And yet I am, and live — like vapours tossed 

Into the nothingness of scorn and noise, 

Into the living sea of waking dreams, 

Where there is neither sense of life or joys, 

But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems; 

Even the dearest that I loved the best 

Are strange - nay, rather, stranger than the rest. 

I long for scenes where man hath never trod 

A place where woman never smiled or wept 

There to abide with my Creator, God, 

And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept, 

Untroubling and untroubled where I lie 

The grass below - above the vaulted sky.

My second choice of poem is taken from Walt Whitman’s 1892 version of “Song of Myself”.

Whitman was a 19^th century American poet and one of the most influential in American history.  He is often regarded as the father of free verse and combined liberalism and realism in his extensive works – though, not without controversy!

 I have selected just the first section of his poem out of the 52 –  evidently one section for each day of the year. The complete poem is very long, around 16,000 words, so this section represents less than 1% of this monumental work!

 The poem’s sense of “I am“ is clearly embedded in its title of “Song of Myself” and the wide use of the first person.  It explores the possibilities for communion between all individuals with a premise of  “what I assume you shall assume” . Although it is narrated in the first person it may not be assumed to be totally autobiographical.

Song of Myself (1892 version) - Section 1 (By Walt Whitman) see Note 3

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my soul,

I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,

Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,

I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,

Hoping to cease not till death.

Creeds and schools in abeyance,

Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,

I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,

Nature without check with original energy.

And finally let me turn to the Bible for inspiration, with its clear references to the idea of “ I am”.  In Exodus (3.14) we can read how the enslaved people of Israel cried out to God for deliverance.  God answered their cry, using the expression “I AM who I AM”, to introduce himself as their deliverer and reinforcing the existence of God.   

 And there are many other usages.

In the Psalms for example, which are the poems of the Bible we can read in Psalm 46.10:

“Be still and know that I am God.”

This is a popular line used to encourage believers to be still and silent before the Lord. This interpretation promotes a healthy rest in the presence of the Lord.

 But I want to look more particularly at the “I am” statements of Jesus, which are in effect a self-declaration by Jesus, identifying Himself as God.

So, the “I AM” declared in Exodus was now physically standing in front of people, in the shape of Jesus, ready to be their Shepherd, their Door to the Father, their Life, their Vine, their Light, their Bread of Life, and their Truth. He's the “I AM” - the God of the NOW - ready to be whatever we need Him to be in our lives.

 I have taken each of the “I am” statements of Jesus and have attempted a three-line poetic interpretation, which I hope works for you.

The “I am“ Statements of Jesus  - A Poetic Interpretation 

(By Roger Verrall  - August 2023)

I Am the Bread of Life (John 6:35)

While bread  may feed our body’s needs

Christ nurtures deeply in our souls

And truly makes us into beings whole.

I Am the Light of The World (John 8:12)

Christ surely does defeat the dark 

Bringing forth his glorious light

To show us truly all that’s right.

I Am the Gate for The Sheep (John 10:7)

We are the followers of the Lord

Anxious to pass through that gate

To reach a place where love beats hate.

I Am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)

We may be shepherds for each other  

But only Christ completes that care

Through all that he had to bear.

I Am the Resurrection and The Life (John 11:25)

It’s only through the risen Christ

That we can really live in love 

With that clear guidance from above.

I Am the Way the Truth and The Life (John 14:

We walk the way and follow signs 

We seek the truth that is not fake

And life that follows gently in its wake.

I Am the True Vine (John 15:1)

We eagerly pick the luscious fruit 

That grows abundantly on the Vine

And then turns water into wine.

This is perhaps scratching at the surface of “I am”, but it may just encourage you, the reader, to try some “I am” statements of your own!

Perhaps recalling two  lines from the poem “Invictus”, by William Ernest Henley:

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

You may even contemplate reading Walt Whitman’s poem in its entirety!

Notes and Sources

• Northampton General Lunatic Asylum is now St Andrews Hospital and still cares for people with mental illness. It remained in the private sector following the creation of the NHS in 1948 and is a registered charity.
• The New Oxford Book of English Verse, ed. Helen Gardner, OUP, Oxford 1972 - Reprinted 1987
• Poetry Foundation:  https://www.poetryfoundation.org

Submitted by Roger Verrall - August 11, 2023