“In the darkness of the night, the nightingale sings with wondrous splendor, A beckoning songbird calling the world to feel peaceful surrender. The nightingale’s beauty lives in the essence of his melodic voice, Leaving listeners disarmed by its power, making sweetness their choice.” From the poem, Splendor in the Night’s Light, D. Ferris Arfaa arouses our awareness that life’s true meaning and effect emanates from our inner beauty, not outward appearance! Furthermore, we are left with the personal choice of whether to receive and surrender to the power of redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ. This book contains poems that reflect on the lives of Jesus and His original Twelve Apostles. The poems carry us from their callings by Jesus into apostleship and, finally, martyrdom. They are intended to spark a personal revival in each of us to answer God’s calling no matter our personal limitations. From the First Nightingale to the Last emphasizes that, like Jesus and His Apostles, we all share a common nature, but we can move beyond our personal shortcomings to a powerful purpose in service to others. The reader cannot fail to be motivated to a new level of living through the power of faith and a relationship with Jesus Christ.
D. Ferris Arfaa hopes that the book will inspire others to realize, hone, and use their God-given gifts to take the message of the Gospel to the waiting world. Now retired in Texas and a leader in her local bible study, this attorney-at-law-turned-poet graduated magna cum laude while earning a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Notre Dame of Maryland University. A juris doctor degree followed from the University of Baltimore School of Law, as did many awards for legal and community involvement in Maryland. D. Ferris Arfaa was a registered nurse before receiving her degree in finance and an adjunct professor of business law at the Notre Dame of Maryland University from 2000 to 2004. Furthermore, this poet is the author of the collection of the eminently spiritual poetic verse penned in 2006 in The Gift of God’s Word.