 | Poems : medley and Palestina |  |
The Fathers.
The time would fail to tell of those
Who wrought the wondrous deeds of faith;
Who kept their crowns despite of skaith,
And ran their course through many woes;
Who wrought the wondrous deeds of faith;
Who kept their crowns despite of skaith,
And ran their course through many woes;
Who quenched the violence of fire,
And 'scaped the sharpness of the sword;
Who turned to flight the alien horde,
And quelled the lion in his ire;
And 'scaped the sharpness of the sword;
Who turned to flight the alien horde,
And quelled the lion in his ire;
Of mothers who received their dead,
Through fervent prayer, to life again;
Of men who suffered mortal pain,
Nor ever for deliverance plead;
Through fervent prayer, to life again;
Of men who suffered mortal pain,
Nor ever for deliverance plead;
Or those who fronted scourge and scorn
And biting bonds without regret,
Because their holy thoughts were set
Upon the resurrection morn;
And biting bonds without regret,
Because their holy thoughts were set
Upon the resurrection morn;
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While others, hunted, destitute,
Sought refuges in mountain caves,
Or found their nameless, noble graves
Among the coverts of the brute;
Sought refuges in mountain caves,
Or found their nameless, noble graves
Among the coverts of the brute;
Unspotted souls of whom the earth
Was undeserving, though they strove
To lift it on their mighty love
And give its dust some little worth.
Was undeserving, though they strove
To lift it on their mighty love
And give its dust some little worth.
All these, whose gracious names endure,
Saw not the Christ that we have seen,
But kept their hallowed hope serene
Because they held the promise sure.
Saw not the Christ that we have seen,
But kept their hallowed hope serene
Because they held the promise sure.
| Poems : medley and Palestina | |