 | Words by the Wayside |  |
31
At Assisi
I
Not thus should he be sepulchred, not thus—
Almsman of God, and spouse of Poverty—
Where fane crowns fane, a pillared praise on high,
By Masters of renown made glorious.
So men of old revered him: but to us
Strange and unmeet it seems that he should lie
Where day by day with travel-jaded eye
Crowds turn to gaze, and critic-tongues discuss.
Almsman of God, and spouse of Poverty—
Where fane crowns fane, a pillared praise on high,
By Masters of renown made glorious.
So men of old revered him: but to us
Strange and unmeet it seems that he should lie
Where day by day with travel-jaded eye
Crowds turn to gaze, and critic-tongues discuss.
For pomp and splendour irked him: a bare shrine
Rude and rock-bedded—the blue dome above—
Sufficed his soul for worship: he did love
To talk with birds and flowers, nor seldom trod
Far from man's haunt the cloud-cowled Apennine,
To be alone with God—alone with God.
Rude and rock-bedded—the blue dome above—
Sufficed his soul for worship: he did love
To talk with birds and flowers, nor seldom trod
Far from man's haunt the cloud-cowled Apennine,
To be alone with God—alone with God.
II
To stoop in self-abasement to the earth,
Not to need happiness, to shun no pain,
In weakness to find strength, in losses gain,
All things in nothingness, and wealth in dearth,
Yea, and by daily death win spirit-birth—
The Vision of the Unseen to sight made plain—
Saint of Assisi, though men doubt thee sane,
This was thy wisdom, this thy glorious worth.
Not to need happiness, to shun no pain,
In weakness to find strength, in losses gain,
All things in nothingness, and wealth in dearth,
Yea, and by daily death win spirit-birth—
The Vision of the Unseen to sight made plain—
Saint of Assisi, though men doubt thee sane,
This was thy wisdom, this thy glorious worth.
O Lowliness of soul, whose inward sway
Is Peace and Resignation, with the slow
Sure backward-ebbing of the waves of woe,
Henceforth and from this hour do thou, we pray,
Sit at the heart's helm, pilot us our way,
As from the known to the unknown we go!
Is Peace and Resignation, with the slow
Sure backward-ebbing of the waves of woe,
Henceforth and from this hour do thou, we pray,
Sit at the heart's helm, pilot us our way,
As from the known to the unknown we go!
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