 | Poems by John Howard Bryant |  |
11
THE BLIND RESTORED TO SIGHT.
“And I went and washed, and I received sight”—
John ix, 2.
John ix, 2.
When the Great Master spoke,
He touched his withered eyes,
And at one gleam upon him broke
The glad earth and the skies.
He touched his withered eyes,
And at one gleam upon him broke
The glad earth and the skies.
And he saw the city's walls,
And king's and prophet's tomb,
And mighty arches and vaulted halls
And the temple's lofty dome.
And king's and prophet's tomb,
And mighty arches and vaulted halls
And the temple's lofty dome.
He looked on the river's flood
And the flash of mountain rills,
And the gentle wave of the palms that stood
Upon Judea's hills.
And the flash of mountain rills,
And the gentle wave of the palms that stood
Upon Judea's hills.
He saw, on heights and plains,
Creatures of every race;
But a mighty thrill ran through his veins
When he met the human face.
Creatures of every race;
But a mighty thrill ran through his veins
When he met the human face.
And his virgin sight beheld
The ruddy glow of even,
And the thousand shining orbs that filled
The azure depths of heaven.
The ruddy glow of even,
And the thousand shining orbs that filled
The azure depths of heaven.
12
Though woman's voice before
Had cheered his gloomy night,
To see the angel form she wore
Made deeper the delight.
Had cheered his gloomy night,
To see the angel form she wore
Made deeper the delight.
And his heart, at daylight's close,
For the bright world where he trod,
And when the yellow morning rose,
Gave speechless thanks to God.
For the bright world where he trod,
And when the yellow morning rose,
Gave speechless thanks to God.
| Poems by John Howard Bryant | |