BOLT!
New versions -
Limited,
Special,
Exclusive they are.
A new horde of performers,
Inoculated, empowered with higher life -
To run and never tire.
Ushering you into the new age of a changed race.
Spirits are now our horses;
When they run, they need no water,
Nor provender when they stop,
For they are wholly forged to discharge as flame.
If you have run with horses
And have been far outrun,
How shall you survive our new prototypes -
Those that never blink an eye,
Wagging their tails,
Rejoicing only to the war drums?
What we offer
Is the ride of the fastest royal steed,
Bred from the royal stud.
Against these ones,
There are no exemptions - only losses.
Laboratory-reared,
Built to cheat the game -
Better than beasts,
Smarter than swords.
Threshing long-standing timbers into grasses,
Beating them into heaps yet to score a point.
Emergence of new times,
Forcing new races,
Revolutionizing new stallions -
The rarity - cultured to outperform!
INTRODUCTION TO “BOLT!”
“BOLT!” is a prophetic vision of transformation - a declaration that a new breed of humanity is emerging: rare, divine and unstoppable. Drawing imagery from both Scripture and modern science, the poem reimagines people as spirit-forged prototypes - beings “inoculated with higher life,” running not by strength but by revelation.
The poem’s title nods to Usain Bolt - symbol of unmatched speed - yet its message transcends athletics. It is about the velocity of the Spirit, the acceleration of destiny. Through images of horses, laboratories and royal studs, the poem merges the ancient and the futuristic, declaring that heaven itself engineers its own champions.
“BOLT!” ultimately celebrates divine empowerment. It announces the death of limitation and the rise of those “cultured to outperform.” It’s a bold anthem for a generation built not to compete, but to conquer - those who, having received the breath of fire, will never tire nor turn back.
THEMES AND EXPLANATIONS
1. Divine Empowerment and Spiritual Evolution
The poem envisions human beings who have been “inoculated, empowered with higher life.”
This suggests a spiritual biotechnology - where the human soul becomes the site of divine modification.
The speaker is describing a generation that draws power directly from God, not from the material world: “they need no water, nor provender when they stop.”
It’s a metaphor for complete spiritual sufficiency - those who live by revelation don’t run dry.
2. The Horse as a Symbol of Spirit and Speed
The repeated imagery of horses carries dual meaning:
In Scripture, horses often symbolize strength, battle, or divine mission (Zechariah 6:5, Revelation 19:14).
In modern idiom, the horse stands for velocity and power.
By merging these, the poem elevates spirit above fleshly effort: humans become like steeds ridden by divine energy - tireless, disciplined, and unstoppable.
The poet is saying: the age of running with men is over; now we run with spirits.
3. Spiritual Technology and the Future of Creation
The poem’s vocabulary - “laboratory-reared,” “prototypes,” “cultured to outperform” - injects a futuristic tone.
It’s as if heaven itself has a lab, designing spiritual prototypes - a new humanity engineered for endurance, excellence, and divine fire.
This theme bridges the ancient and the modern: prophecy meets biotechnology.
It portrays faith as a kind of divine science - exact, creative, intentional.
4. Royalty, Rarity, and Divine Selection
Lines like “Bred from the royal stud” and “The rarity - cultured to outperform!” emphasize exclusivity.
These “new versions” are not common - they are chosen, sanctified, and refined through divine process.
The poet uses the imagery of royal breeding to suggest that those who carry this power have heavenly pedigree.
It is about election and excellence - not of privilege, but of divine purpose.
5. Judgment, Revolution, and Renewal
In the final section - “Threshing long-standing timbers into grasses, beating them into heaps…” - the tone turns apocalyptic.
It depicts the downfall of old systems, traditions, and powers (“timbers”) being reduced to “grasses” - the mighty humbled before the new.
“Emergence,” “Forcing,” and “Revolutionizing” signal transformation: a breaking of old norms to birth the new.
The poem envisions not chaos, but divine reordering - the restructuring of strength itself.
6. Defiance and Destiny
The line “Built to cheat the game” is a bold moral inversion - these new beings don’t play by the rules of limitation.
It’s not rebellion against morality, but against mediocrity.
The “game” stands for worldly systems that measure success by effort; these new ones win by grace, not grind.
The poet calls them a divine exception - “better than beasts, smarter than swords.”
7. Transition to a New Age
The poem announces a generational shift - “Emergence of new times, forcing new races.”
Humanity is evolving - not biologically, but spiritually.
This echoes the language of Pentecost, revival, and even the Renaissance - where divine energy redefines what is humanly possible.
“Bolt!” therefore becomes a manifesto of new creation - an anthem for those who believe the Spirit can make the impossible run.
Perfect. Let’s begin with the poet’s note, then move to a line-by-line interpretation that dives into your imagery, biblical and mythic undertones, and poetic structure.
POET’S NOTE - “BOLT!” by Olusola Adejumo
“BOLT!” is a visionary declaration of emergence - a poetic prophecy of new beings, new strength, and a divine acceleration beyond human measure. Inspired by the metaphor of speed and divine empowerment, it borrows from both athletic excellence (evoking Usain Bolt) and spiritual imagery drawn from Scripture - “if you have run with the footmen…” (Jeremiah 12:5).
In this poem, the speaker heralds a generation “inoculated with higher life,” beings who are not sustained by natural means but by spirit and fire. It is not merely about physical speed but about spiritual capacity - endurance, innovation, and transformation. The poem’s rhythm itself runs; its lines gallop, break, and resume like a race toward revelation.
“Bolt!” thus becomes both a name and a summons - the calling forth of those “built to outperform.”
LINE-BY-LINE COMMENTARY
Title: BOLT!
The exclamation mark energizes the title - it’s both a name (like Usain Bolt) and a command (“bolt forward!”).
Symbolically, it means lightning or divine speed - suggesting not just motion, but a heavenly spark or transmission.
**New versions -
Limited,
Special,
Exclusive they are.**
Introduces a manufactured rarity - this new breed is like limited-edition beings.
The line mimics marketing language (“limited edition,” “exclusive”), merging the spiritual with the technological - suggesting the sacredness of rarity in a mass world.
The clipped phrasing gives the sense of a rollout announcement - a new era is being unveiled.
**A new horde of performers,
Inoculated, empowered with higher life -
To run and never tire.**
“Horde” evokes a large, unstoppable force - not of chaos, but of performance and purpose.
“Inoculated” cleverly reclaims a scientific term: they’ve been infused or vaccinated with divinity, immune to fatigue and failure.
“Higher life” recalls divine vitality (John 10:10 - “life more abundantly”).
“To run and never tire” echoes Isaiah 40:31 - “They shall run and not be weary.”
**Invasion of spirits!
Ushering you into the new age of a changed race.**
“Invasion” connotes both military and spiritual incursion - a takeover from heaven’s realm.
The phrase “changed race” works on two levels: a transformed humanity and a literal new kind of race (speed, competition, and evolution).
The syntax “ushering you into” makes the reader a participant, not just a spectator.
**Spirits are now our horses;
When they run, they need no water,
Nor provender when they stop,
For they are wholly forged to discharge as flame.**
Majestic imagery. Spirits as horses - a recurring biblical motif (Zechariah 6:5, Revelation 19:14).
These are not creatures of flesh but of energy, requiring no earthly sustenance.
“Discharge as flame” combines the language of weaponry and holiness - divine combustion, pure force.
The stanza’s rhythm imitates galloping hooves, then slows into fire.
**If you have run with horses
And have been far outrun,
How shall you survive our new prototypes -
Those that never blink or sleep,
Wagging their tails,
Rejoicing only to the war drums?**
Allusion to Jeremiah 12:5: “If you have run with footmen and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses?”
“Prototypes” evokes technology and divine experiment - heaven’s laboratories birthing superior beings.
“Never blink or sleep” shows relentless focus — possibly angelic or spiritual prototypes.
“Rejoicing only to the war drums” intensifies the military cadence - the poem’s energy peaks here.
**What we offer
Is the ride of the fastest royal steed,
Bred from the royal stud.
Against these ones,
There are no exemptions - only losses.**
Here, the “we” voice shifts from observer to herald - like a divine announcement.
“Royal stud” maintains the equine metaphor while exalting the lineage: these are not common creations but bred from heaven’s royalty.
“No exemptions - only losses” closes the stanza with sharp finality - no opponent can escape defeat.
**Laboratory-reared,
Built to cheat the game:
Better than beasts,
Smarter than swords.**
One of the strongest stanzas: modern, clean, chilling.
“Laboratory-reared” fuses biotech and creation imagery - humans as designed entities.
“Built to cheat the game” is daring - suggesting systems disrupted by divine design.
“Smarter than swords” brings elegance - intelligence surpassing brute force.
**Threshing long-standing timbers into grasses,
Beating them into heaps, yet to score a point.
Emergence of new times,
Forcing new races,
Revolutionizing new stallions—
The rarity—cultured to outperform!**
“Threshing” - an image of separation and judgment; old powers reduced to stubble.
“Timbers into grasses” - strong reduced to weak; nature reversed.
“Beating them into heaps…” shows divine preparation: the old world humbled before the new.
“Emergence… Forcing… Revolutionizing…” - three verbs driving momentum toward climax.
“The rarity - cultured to outperform!” - an unforgettable closing; like a slogan of heaven’s elite breed.
OVERALL THEMATIC INSIGHT
“BOLT!” sits at the intersection of:
Biblical prophecy (Jeremiah, Isaiah imagery of horses and endurance)
Technological futurism (lab, prototype, cultured, reared)
Royal and athletic metaphor (stud, steed, outperform, run)
It celebrates divine evolution - humans transfigured by spirit into unstoppable forces.
The poem’s voice alternates between prophet, herald, and architect, balancing myth and science, revelation and revolution.
The tone is triumphant, prophetic, almost liturgical in cadence. It reads as a manifesto of divine innovation - God’s new race unveiled.
Be Inspired - Collapsing Under This Inspiration & Prophesying!
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