W.B. Yeats and the Second Coming
By Charlotte Cerminaro
web posted December 7, 2015
Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart, the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world;
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned.
The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
Hardly are those words out when a vast image troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and head of man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?- W. B. Yeats The Second Coming
I've never been a great fan of poetry, and my knowledge of the major poets reflects this. Perhaps because it requires enormous patience to delve into the deep symbolism embedded within some of the greatest poems. However, there are a few exceptions. I sometimes find myself drawn to certain poems, perhaps because they can, at the highest level, sum up an entire age or era in just a few short lines. The Second Coming is one such poem. It strikes an unusual chord in the mind and conscience and there have been commentaries, books and essays either written about it or quoting it directly.
The first time I read The Second Coming, before I knew who authored it, I assumed it was a modern writer. From the first stanza to the last it describes the kind of spiritual illness and moral insanity that permeates our air and darkens our skies. It was a shock to find out this poem is 100 years old and that Yeats was virtually prophesying. Perhaps because of his deep understanding of the Bible and the inerrancy of its predictions, his bone-chilling, intimate narrative of a world already beyond its tipping point and the unthinkably dark, ancient entity behind it, is more effective than any news story. An entity has been waiting for this moment for millennia and its will is undimmed by the passage of time.
If we were to use the media as a barometer of our spiritual, moral and ethical state, we would be in the dark virtually every day. For every newsworthy event we hear about, there are dozens that go unmentioned. Many of the biggest stories around the world aren't even covered by the major media outlets. Aside from actual events, there are also corresponding causes or problems, and these underlying problems mostly go unmentioned as well. The most egregious, violent crimes are sometimes given coverage, as well as the apprehending of the suspect---but why are there so many of these crimes taking place all over the world, every day? Why are there so many we don't hear about? After watching even a very edited, typical news program, many people walk away asking, "Why?"
For the answer to this question one must look beneath the surface of these stories, beneath the most obvious causes. If we really wish to understand this evil, chaos and crime we must look beyond what we perceive with our eyes, and realize there are many things that exist in this world that can not be directly observed. There are things that we comprehend and even rely upon every day, the existence of which can only be inferred from their effect on, or interaction with, other things.
It is these unseen forces which we must consider now, in the face of such massive outbreaks of chaos and hatred. Evil is operating with such impunity because it goes almost completely unchallenged. In the last few decades violence has gone from random and shocking to cold, calculated, ubiquitous and premeditated. That there is an intelligence behind many global events should come as no surprise. What is surprising is the speed and dexterity with which this unseen, malevolent intelligence is directing human affairs.
Surely the poet is correct in his assessment. Surely the second coming is at hand. But if we understand history and our bibles correctly, things will probably get much worse, soon. The only real hope and comfort is the realization that if there is an evil entity working its own plans, there is also an ultimate good, infinitely powerful being, and His plans are already in place. He has the endgame in sight. He is our creator and redeemer; we also have His promise that we will not have to endure the "wrath to come", that we may dwell safely in his tabernacle until the danger is over.
The utopian dream for which humankind has been striving will not happen by our own hands. Saul of Tarsus, better known as the apostle Paul, reminds us who, or what, our true enemy is, lest we forget. He says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities and powers of this present darkness and against the spiritual forces of evil...." The peace and justice that we long for so deeply will not be ours until the Messiah returns to vanquish this enemy. This is what we are waiting for--the Second Coming. 
Charlotte B. Cerminaro is a Juilliard-trained classical musician who, in addition to being a studio and orchestral musician, enjoys writing.