The later poems of John Clare 1837-1864 ... General editor Eric Robinson: Edited by Eric Robinson and David Powell: Associate editor Margaret Grainger |
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JOB—38th CHAP: 1st PART |
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 | The later poems of John Clare |  |
122
JOB—38th CHAP: 1st PART
Then God half angered ansered Job arightOut of the wirlwind & the darkening storm
‘Who darkeneth counsil thus & argues wrong
‘By words without all knowledge vague & void
‘Gird up thy loins now like a man—for I
‘Demand of thee—& answer me aright
‘Where wast thou mortal when I formed & laid
‘Foundations of the earth & sea—declare
‘If thou hast understanding think & speak
‘Who hath the measures laid & knowest thou
‘Or who hath stretched the line upon its base
‘Whereon are earths foundations fastened—say
‘Or who hath planned & laid the corner stone
When all the morning stars together sang
& all the sons of God did shout for joy
Or who as if with doors shut up the sea
When it break forth as issuing from the womb
When I made its garments of the racking clouds
& wrapt thick darkness as its swaddling bands
& brake up for it my decreed abode
& set up bars & doors to keep it staid
& said here shalt thou come not further
& here shalt thy proud waves be staid
Hast thou commanded morning since thy days
& caused the bright day spring to know its place
That it might hold on earths extreemest ends
& the wicked might be shaken out therefrom
It is turned as clay into the seal
123
Their light from wickedness is still withheld
& the high arm is broken in its might
Hast thou entered in the ocean springs
Or walked in search of the unfathomed deeps
Hath death his gates e'er opened unto thee
Or shown the shadows of eternal sleep
Hast thou percieved the breadth of earth or space
If thou knowest all or part thereof—declare
Where is the way wherein the light may dwell
& as for darkness where doth it repose
That thou should'st take it to the bound thereof
& know the paths that leadeth to its home
Knowest thou as much because thou wast then born
Or since because thy numbered days was great
Hast thou entered the palace of the snow
Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail
Which for the time of trouble I reserve
Against the day of battle & of war
By what way is light parted—knowest thou
Which scattereth oer the earth the eastern wind
For the overflow of waters who divides
A channel & a course that it may speed
Who guides forked lightenings through the sultry sky
& gives the thunder terrors shuddering voice
To cause the rain on spots where no man is
On wildered wastes where no man cares to dwell
To satisfy the waste & desolate ground
& cause the bud to blossom there in spring
Hath the rain a father—silence—speak
Or who begets the drops of morning dew
Out of whose womb cometh the chilly ice
& the heavens hoar frost who gendered can[s]t thou tell
The waters are hidden as beneath a stone
& the face of the deep is frozen like a rock
The influences of Pleiades canst thou bind
Or loosen Orions belt—canst thou bring forth
Nazzaroth in his season or yet guide
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The ordinances of heaven—canst thou set
The dominion thereof in earth—let silence speak
Canst thou lift up thy voice to clouds & sky
& bid the rain in waters cover thee
Canst thou send lightenings forth that they may go
& answer ‘here we are’—say who hath put
Wisdom in the inward parts & who hath given
Prime understanding to the beating heart
Who can number in wisdom heavens host of clouds
Or the bottles of heaven who can stay
When the clods cleave fast together & the dust
Groweth hard as a rock—can mortals hunt
Prey for the Lion or the lions whelps
When hid in dens or in the coverts couched
They lie in wait for prey—& who provides
The raven with his food—his young ones cry
To God & wander for the lack of meat
| The later poems of John Clare | |