O Adam! Formed of dust and breath divine, What many-hued inheritance is thine— Thou godlike figure blackly robed in vice With memory of verdant Paradise, Traversing mottled Earth and sapphire Sea And wondering at star and rock and tree—Thine is the gold that runs in mountain vein, Thine are the proud and reddened hands of […]
Charged with duty, when thou didst beget me Of protection, and provision, and love. Yet, poisoned drink and essence captivated thee; Title “Father” did you keep, however unworthy of. Though cast aside, advanced was I in enmity and grief. Love for you I declared; my duty, at least, I did perform. Armed with sorrow and […]
Yet, I am proud, though you rebuke me. Slave I am, but slave whose power doth swell. With sickness, poison, war, you say I dwell— ‘Tis true, and you fear each because of me. Slave I am, but slave beneath whom ev’ry Other slave doth tremble and his pride quell! Through me fate sends kings […]
Rise from sleep, day has come, now are the hours of the sun. Time to work, time to plod, turning hand to till the clod. Dirt beneath stomping feet, Plow-crushed earth smelling sweet. Rock and thorn Causing pain, Fields of mud in pouring rain. Muddled furrows, hard to see where seed will sprout and plant […]
There is a sadness that feels cold, And forgets that light is not dead When hurt and regret are thus wed In the human problem of old. Grey shadows stretch across his path, The sun from the horizon beams, Hues of red upon the world gleams, The town falls in a scarlet bath. He stops […]
It was a hot September day, and the town was humming with its usual rhythm of activity—not too busy, not too loud, simply the everyday flow of people living, working, helping each other, and mostly minding their own business. I would tell you the name of the town, but you would never find it on a map, […]
Northward, ever northward, despite the chilly blast, despite the failure of the light, my heart is drawn at last. Southward, sometimes southward, warm climates call my name, tropic heat and days of ease, draw me with the same. But northward, always northward, I am called again, to the popples and the pines, to lands of […]
Could all the songs of earth and heav’n combine, Of this, their sound would still not match the grace, That through the darkness piercing, Light divine Has come, with Life commingling in this place. How fine this Way in fairest testament, Thrice-witnessed Proof, the strongest kind of plea— Though men deny the Truth with lying […]
At First, God spoke, the Spirit moved, worlds made. Light flashed and Night’s cool beauty God deemed good. The Second movement: and expanse God bade To tear water from earth, here Heaven stood. Third, land and river appeared, Earth and Seas. Plants sprung, flowers rooted, each to their kind. Sun and Moon danced on the […]
The heavens declare the glory of God. The blue bellows your name; celestial stars bursting into flame. They gladly proclaim your perfect goodness. Rainy teardrops speak of the cross, reminding me Your hands, which formed the world, were drenched in blood for me. When the sun soars in the sky, it sings your sovereignty; when […]