The collected poems of Arthur Edward Waite in two volumes ... With a Portrait |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
| XXXII. |
| XXXIII. |
| XXXIV. |
| XXXV. |
| XXXVI. | XXXVI
THE CONSECRATION AND ELEVATION |
| XXXVII. |
| XXXVIII. |
| XXXIX. |
| XL. |
| XLI. |
| XLII. |
| XLIII. |
| XLIV. |
| XLV. |
| XLVI. |
| XLVII. |
 | The collected poems of Arthur Edward Waite |  |
XXXVI
THE CONSECRATION AND ELEVATION
The man who denies the sacraments is less guilty than he who dismembers them.
Of Bread and Wine
From the first dawn of things Thou hast me fedWith many substances of wine and bread,
Beyond those daily charities which bless
All men with manna in the wilderness;
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Refreshment from an everlasting cup
To take with spiritual lips, Thou didst
My soul sustain, its angel-peers amidst.
Then at Thy board I sat, all sane and whole,
Clothed in the proper garment of my soul;
Then in the liturgies and rites which make
A rapture in Thy presence, did I take
A part allotted, and their calls fulfil
With a most clear conception of Thy will.
But after, for some purpose undeclared,
From Thy great temple's service I was spared;
From Thy high palace-gates and halls sent down
And precincts fair of Thine eternal town—
I know not why, who had not tired of Thee
And scarce could falter in Thy ministry,
Under Thine eyes' light, with such graces lent,
Sufficing, efficacious. But I went,
And since that time, which is earth's time outside,
Far as my paths might from Thy throne divide,
Deep as the gulfs might be which I plunged in—
Conduits and cesspools of the House of Sin—
In the strange tavern and the stranger's bed,
I do remember still Thy wine and bread.
From Thy great temple's service I was spared;
From Thy high palace-gates and halls sent down
And precincts fair of Thine eternal town—
I know not why, who had not tired of Thee
And scarce could falter in Thy ministry,
Under Thine eyes' light, with such graces lent,
Sufficing, efficacious. But I went,
And since that time, which is earth's time outside,
Far as my paths might from Thy throne divide,
Deep as the gulfs might be which I plunged in—
Conduits and cesspools of the House of Sin—
In the strange tavern and the stranger's bed,
I do remember still Thy wine and bread.
Thus having pass'd into this low estate,
So that I cannot look up to. Thy gate;
Having withal too dim and sad an eye
To see the splendour of that chancelry,
Where, unto those who serve and those who err,
Justice or love Thou dost administer;
I have been long content Thy hands to bless
For any manna in the wilderness:
But, though all gifts within Thy hands are good,
My soul now turns and loathes the lighter food;
Such froth upon the surface cannot feed
The man whose want demands strong meat and mead.
Therefore as one who has been raised from base
And scullion errands to a page's place,
My need has bade me from the broken meat
And brings me, crying, at Thy board to eat;
But, since all bridal garments here I lack,
I call on Thee to give those vestments back
Wherein I served in such uplifted state
Ere I was put forth from Thy palace-gate:
Still through all straits I keep my claim on them
And the bright shining of my diadem.
So that I cannot look up to. Thy gate;
Having withal too dim and sad an eye
To see the splendour of that chancelry,
Where, unto those who serve and those who err,
Justice or love Thou dost administer;
I have been long content Thy hands to bless
For any manna in the wilderness:
But, though all gifts within Thy hands are good,
My soul now turns and loathes the lighter food;
342
The man whose want demands strong meat and mead.
Therefore as one who has been raised from base
And scullion errands to a page's place,
My need has bade me from the broken meat
And brings me, crying, at Thy board to eat;
But, since all bridal garments here I lack,
I call on Thee to give those vestments back
Wherein I served in such uplifted state
Ere I was put forth from Thy palace-gate:
Still through all straits I keep my claim on them
And the bright shining of my diadem.
Perchance I fell from Thee through mine own fault;
Yet am I native to Thy temple-vault:
Perhaps, for Thine own purpose, Thou hast seen
Fit to reduce me from my primal mien;
But be my guilt in Thine eyes less or more
Now matters not: I pray—Restore, restore!
And having given, as Thou needs must give,
To one who naked can no longer live,
The proper garments of the soul, I know
That to Thy banquet hall I then shall go,
Saying: “High Master, I have fasted long;
Give me man's meat and wine of vintage strong.”
Whereat, with fitting benison and grace,
They shall set down true bread before my place
And to my lips Thy pages shall lift up—
For deep, free drinking—an eternal cup.
Yet am I native to Thy temple-vault:
Perhaps, for Thine own purpose, Thou hast seen
Fit to reduce me from my primal mien;
But be my guilt in Thine eyes less or more
Now matters not: I pray—Restore, restore!
And having given, as Thou needs must give,
To one who naked can no longer live,
The proper garments of the soul, I know
That to Thy banquet hall I then shall go,
Saying: “High Master, I have fasted long;
Give me man's meat and wine of vintage strong.”
Whereat, with fitting benison and grace,
They shall set down true bread before my place
And to my lips Thy pages shall lift up—
For deep, free drinking—an eternal cup.
Therefore, by all who hear these high words said
In the King's sense be they interpreted.
In the King's sense be they interpreted.
We can always be sure of our commentaries, short as they fall of perfection, by uniting their intention with God.
| The collected poems of Arthur Edward Waite | |