 | Devotional Poems |  |
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FOR A CHILD
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GIVE ME THINE HEART
Let me do some little thing
For the love of Christ my King:
Something brave and gentle too,
Something He would have me do.
For the love of Christ my King:
Something brave and gentle too,
Something He would have me do.
Let me say some little word
For the love of Christ my Lord:
Little word of help or praise;
Little kindly word always.
For the love of Christ my Lord:
Little word of help or praise;
Little kindly word always.
Let me bear some little thing
For the love of Christ my King:
Little disappointment, loss;
Not be sullen, not be cross.
For the love of Christ my King:
Little disappointment, loss;
Not be sullen, not be cross.
P'raps I mayn't do anything
Specially to please my King:
Maybe none will want my deed;
Maybe none my word will need.
Specially to please my King:
Maybe none will want my deed;
Maybe none my word will need.
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P'raps I shan't be vexed at all;
P'raps “all right” till evenfall:
Shall I then, to please my King,
Have no little offering?
P'raps “all right” till evenfall:
Shall I then, to please my King,
Have no little offering?
No. There's something yet more fair
Than to do, or speak, or bear:
So all day I'll try to be
What my King desires of me.
Than to do, or speak, or bear:
So all day I'll try to be
What my King desires of me.
And, when I kneel down at night,
Fold my hands in Jesus' sight,
Tell Him that I've tried to be
All that he would like to see;
Fold my hands in Jesus' sight,
Tell Him that I've tried to be
All that he would like to see;
Say I've loved Him all the day.—
Then I think He'll smile and say:
Little child, you've done your best,
And I love you. Go to rest.
Then I think He'll smile and say:
Little child, you've done your best,
And I love you. Go to rest.
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FROM NAZARETH TO CALVARY
Jesus is Lord of all, and He
Became a little child like me.
Our dear St. Joseph worked and won
Keep for the darling Foster-Son;
And Blessed Mary spun and sewed
And cooked and swept, and always shewed
The sweetest love, the holiest care,
For little Jesus living there.
And as the Boy, from year to year,
So good, so great of heart, so dear,
Grew on in wisdom and in grace,
He also worked in that sweet place.
Became a little child like me.
Our dear St. Joseph worked and won
Keep for the darling Foster-Son;
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And cooked and swept, and always shewed
The sweetest love, the holiest care,
For little Jesus living there.
And as the Boy, from year to year,
So good, so great of heart, so dear,
Grew on in wisdom and in grace,
He also worked in that sweet place.
Then, by-and-by, our Jesus went
From that blest home where He had spent
So many years; went to fulfil
His Father's will, which was His will.
He always did that will, and so,
When God had told Him forth to go,
He went to do whate'er it meant;
To suffer and to die content.
From that blest home where He had spent
So many years; went to fulfil
His Father's will, which was His will.
He always did that will, and so,
When God had told Him forth to go,
He went to do whate'er it meant;
To suffer and to die content.
I have my cosy little bed:
He had not where to lay His head.
And love for me a home has made:
And He was hated and betrayed.
God loved us, and His love was such
No one but He could love so much;
And this was why, from Nazareth,
Dear Jesus went to Calvary's death.
And this was why, when death was o'er,
He lived again, to die no more.
He had not where to lay His head.
And love for me a home has made:
And He was hated and betrayed.
God loved us, and His love was such
No one but He could love so much;
And this was why, from Nazareth,
Dear Jesus went to Calvary's death.
And this was why, when death was o'er,
He lived again, to die no more.
What can we do for Him who cared
So much for us; for Him who shared
Our life, and died that we might dwell
With Him in joy? 'Tis love Him well.
And better still, and still more blest
Is—love this darling Jesus best.
So much for us; for Him who shared
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With Him in joy? 'Tis love Him well.
And better still, and still more blest
Is—love this darling Jesus best.
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BEFORE THE TABERNACLE
Sweetest Jesus, kind and dear,
For my sake abiding here,
Not in glory bright and great,
But in poor and mean estate;
Look on me who kneel before
This Your little curtained door.
Through that door if I could see,
You would look like bread to me;
But Yourself is there, I know,
For Yourself has told me so.
For my sake abiding here,
Not in glory bright and great,
But in poor and mean estate;
Look on me who kneel before
This Your little curtained door.
Through that door if I could see,
You would look like bread to me;
But Yourself is there, I know,
For Yourself has told me so.
Humbly here I kneel and pray;
Help me, Jesus, day by day,
Till the time when I shall see
You in all Your majesty.
Help me, Jesus, to refrain
From all naughty words and vain,
And from every naughty deed
Like the things that made You bleed.
By the wounds Your dear hands bore,
Give me grace to love You more;
By the wounding of Your Feet,
Teach me Your obedience meet;
By the wounding of Your Side,
Let me in Your Heart abide.
Help me, Jesus, day by day,
Till the time when I shall see
You in all Your majesty.
Help me, Jesus, to refrain
From all naughty words and vain,
And from every naughty deed
Like the things that made You bleed.
By the wounds Your dear hands bore,
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By the wounding of Your Feet,
Teach me Your obedience meet;
By the wounding of Your Side,
Let me in Your Heart abide.
Bless my dear ones, dearest Lord,
In their thought and deed and word;
Bless, dear Jesus, every one.
Jesus sweet, my time is done,
So, good-bye. And yet I know
How Your love will with me go,
Though within the church You stay
All the night and all the day.
In their thought and deed and word;
Bless, dear Jesus, every one.
Jesus sweet, my time is done,
So, good-bye. And yet I know
How Your love will with me go,
Though within the church You stay
All the night and all the day.
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A KING'S DAUGHTER OF HETHENESSE
How she was strangely made ready to receive the Faith, seeing as in a vision the great things that befell when the Lord Jesus redeemed the world: how the monks who brought the Great Message to her father's Court were slain, all save one: how the King's daughter fled the country and won to a Christian land, being baptized on the way thither: how she was taken to a convent: how the Great Message through her prayers unceasing was again sent to her father, and how he received the Faith. Told by her to the nuns of the convent wherein she was Abbess, when she lay a-dying, and by the Abbess who came after her set down in writing.
Our Mother, whose love was the drawing of souls to their God,
Lay dying, and I was of those upon whom was bestowed
The sweetest of honour, to sit by the side of our saint,
And watch, with love-hearing, love-seeing, for token most faint
Of a wish love is quick to interpret and seek to fulfil,
From her, whose dear will, as we knew it, was one with God's will.
Lay dying, and I was of those upon whom was bestowed
The sweetest of honour, to sit by the side of our saint,
And watch, with love-hearing, love-seeing, for token most faint
Of a wish love is quick to interpret and seek to fulfil,
From her, whose dear will, as we knew it, was one with God's will.
All strangely the fever had smitten, and hurt her, and burned,
And sad were our vigils beside her, and daylight returned
Each morning, and looked on our sorrow, for she whom we loved
Was gript in the fangs of the fever, and wildly she moved;
And the words on her dear holy lips were all strange to our ears,
Some tongue that not one of us knew; and we cried through our tears
And our anguish to Him who stood weeping by Lazarus' grave,
And prayed Him, because of His sorrow, to help her and save:
And we cried to our Lady of Grief, to His Mother most dear,
And we wept to the Saints whom we loved, that strong prayer in God's ear
Might even prevail, and our stricken beloved one arise
As of old, with His praise on her tongue, and His love in her eyes.
But not by our prayers and our tears might her healing be won,
So we kneeled in submission and prayed that His will might be done.
And sad were our vigils beside her, and daylight returned
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Was gript in the fangs of the fever, and wildly she moved;
And the words on her dear holy lips were all strange to our ears,
Some tongue that not one of us knew; and we cried through our tears
And our anguish to Him who stood weeping by Lazarus' grave,
And prayed Him, because of His sorrow, to help her and save:
And we cried to our Lady of Grief, to His Mother most dear,
And we wept to the Saints whom we loved, that strong prayer in God's ear
Might even prevail, and our stricken beloved one arise
As of old, with His praise on her tongue, and His love in her eyes.
But not by our prayers and our tears might her healing be won,
So we kneeled in submission and prayed that His will might be done.
Then peace came upon her; the fever went out of her eyes.
And she lay as a comforted baby that blessedly lies
In the arms of the mother that loves it; and calm was her face
As she smiled on her children with all the old sweetness and grace.
And she lay as a comforted baby that blessedly lies
In the arms of the mother that loves it; and calm was her face
As she smiled on her children with all the old sweetness and grace.
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The Shrift and the Unction were given her, and day after day,
The Food for the journey was brought her, and happy she lay.
And the strength of her love still enwrapt us, as calm on the height
Of her Phasge she looked on the country of love and of light.
Full often she spoke to us, tender of heart and of speech,
Whose silence much more than the words of all others could teach:
And lastly she told us the marvellous tale of her youth,
How God led her forth from her country and kin by His Truth;
And my Sisters, who chose me, unworthy, to sit in her place,
Have prayed me to write it, and so, by the help of God's grace,
I essay it. God grant that it be to the glory of Him,
Though the gold of her telling be dulled and the fine gold be dim.
We deem of her happy in rest, peace, refreshment, indeed;
Yet pray for the soul of our Mother, and pray for our need.
The Food for the journey was brought her, and happy she lay.
And the strength of her love still enwrapt us, as calm on the height
Of her Phasge she looked on the country of love and of light.
Full often she spoke to us, tender of heart and of speech,
Whose silence much more than the words of all others could teach:
And lastly she told us the marvellous tale of her youth,
How God led her forth from her country and kin by His Truth;
And my Sisters, who chose me, unworthy, to sit in her place,
Have prayed me to write it, and so, by the help of God's grace,
I essay it. God grant that it be to the glory of Him,
Though the gold of her telling be dulled and the fine gold be dim.
We deem of her happy in rest, peace, refreshment, indeed;
Yet pray for the soul of our Mother, and pray for our need.
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The Abess's Story
I was a mighty king's daughter, who knew not the Name
Whereby we are saved; and one feast-day, at noon-tide, there came
A lad from the bounds of our kingdom, who told us that men
Were come from a country far off, and were waiting as then
With a message of peace unto men of good will. Then my sire
Laughed loud, and the princes laughed too, and he called the lad nigher,
To know of him who was the monarch whose message of peace
Was sent unto him, the most mighty; to him whose increase
Was the waxing of earth, and whose failing her sorrowful wane.—
Whereby we are saved; and one feast-day, at noon-tide, there came
A lad from the bounds of our kingdom, who told us that men
Were come from a country far off, and were waiting as then
With a message of peace unto men of good will. Then my sire
Laughed loud, and the princes laughed too, and he called the lad nigher,
To know of him who was the monarch whose message of peace
Was sent unto him, the most mighty; to him whose increase
Was the waxing of earth, and whose failing her sorrowful wane.—
And the lad smiled a smile in his calmness, and answered again,
“Sir King, they who sent me will tell thee.” Great laughter and mirth
Out leapt at the word of my sire, “He is king of all earth,
Small doubt, who hath sent us a herald so mighty as thou,
Ungrown of the beard and the shoulders, and smooth of the brow!”
But the lad, lowly louting, spake nought, though I deemed his heart said,
“My King is the greatest of kings of the living and dead!”
“Sir King, they who sent me will tell thee.” Great laughter and mirth
Out leapt at the word of my sire, “He is king of all earth,
Small doubt, who hath sent us a herald so mighty as thou,
Ungrown of the beard and the shoulders, and smooth of the brow!”
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“My King is the greatest of kings of the living and dead!”
Then my father made sign unto me, who was standing anear,
To approach him yet nearer; and whispered his word in my ear.
I heard him, and trembled and shuddered, but knew not the why,
For oft he had bid me, his daughter, to look with the eye
Of the sight beyond sight I was born with, and tell what should be;
For the wisdom of women was on me, and far could I see;
I heard what was silent for him, and I saw what was veiled,
And oft I had saved his great lordship from woes that assailed,
For the soul of a prophet was in me; but now I stood stark,
And the heart of me died in my bosom, as, stifling and dark,
The silence enwrapped me and held me. My women upraised,
And took me away from the sight of the courtiers that gazed,
And bore to a chamber soft-lighted, to lay on a bed
And watch me, as women sit watching their lady that's dead.
Not stilled was the shout of the feast, nor its laughter made vain,
For they deemed I should rise from my trance to behold them again.
To approach him yet nearer; and whispered his word in my ear.
I heard him, and trembled and shuddered, but knew not the why,
For oft he had bid me, his daughter, to look with the eye
Of the sight beyond sight I was born with, and tell what should be;
For the wisdom of women was on me, and far could I see;
I heard what was silent for him, and I saw what was veiled,
And oft I had saved his great lordship from woes that assailed,
For the soul of a prophet was in me; but now I stood stark,
And the heart of me died in my bosom, as, stifling and dark,
The silence enwrapped me and held me. My women upraised,
And took me away from the sight of the courtiers that gazed,
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And watch me, as women sit watching their lady that's dead.
Not stilled was the shout of the feast, nor its laughter made vain,
For they deemed I should rise from my trance to behold them again.
Oh the blindness and darkness that wrapped me! The loneness and woe
Of the spirit that goeth alone where her mates cannot go!
A land of the shadow of death, and the quenching of life;
A land of the breaking of hope, and of anguish and strife;
A land of upheaval and terror, a land of despair,
Of a presence that blasted and slew with its cark and its care.
Of the spirit that goeth alone where her mates cannot go!
A land of the shadow of death, and the quenching of life;
A land of the breaking of hope, and of anguish and strife;
A land of upheaval and terror, a land of despair,
Of a presence that blasted and slew with its cark and its care.
But out of the blindness and darkness of night, and the awe
Of the sorrow and loneness, One lifted my soul, and I saw
Far away to the still happy blue of the sky and the sea,—
Where the meeting of ocean and ether unwist of by me—
That blue was a glory of tenderness radiant and soft,
And the birds therein spread out their wings, as they soared high aloft;
And the light of the distant gleamed lovely and lighted the near,
And the eyes that were blessed by the sight of the far-off grew clear,
Till I knew of a beauty, a splendour more fair than a dream,
And I knew that it was and would be, nor a whit did it seem.
The glory sank down to my soul, and the fear was all gone,
And I looked out with eyes newly purged, and they looked upon One
More fair than the men that I knew, than the gods that I guessed,
With the love of the earth and the heaven for a zone round His breast;
With the might of the Maker of all for a crown on His head,
And with eyes that could pierce to the heart of the hell of the dead;
With lips that were bright with the radiance of utterance like gold,
And hands that were strong with the strength that ne'er droops nor grows old.
The glory of youth and of prime, and the glory of eld,
Behaloed the Body enshrining the Spirit beheld
By men who had willed the beholding, by women who loved,
And children who laughed in His arms in their joy unreproved.
Of the sorrow and loneness, One lifted my soul, and I saw
Far away to the still happy blue of the sky and the sea,—
Where the meeting of ocean and ether unwist of by me—
That blue was a glory of tenderness radiant and soft,
And the birds therein spread out their wings, as they soared high aloft;
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And the eyes that were blessed by the sight of the far-off grew clear,
Till I knew of a beauty, a splendour more fair than a dream,
And I knew that it was and would be, nor a whit did it seem.
The glory sank down to my soul, and the fear was all gone,
And I looked out with eyes newly purged, and they looked upon One
More fair than the men that I knew, than the gods that I guessed,
With the love of the earth and the heaven for a zone round His breast;
With the might of the Maker of all for a crown on His head,
And with eyes that could pierce to the heart of the hell of the dead;
With lips that were bright with the radiance of utterance like gold,
And hands that were strong with the strength that ne'er droops nor grows old.
The glory of youth and of prime, and the glory of eld,
Behaloed the Body enshrining the Spirit beheld
By men who had willed the beholding, by women who loved,
And children who laughed in His arms in their joy unreproved.
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They thought I had died, and they came with their anguish and wail.
And dressed me in garments of splendour, and laid on the bale;
But I rose, and I spake—Let them come, O my father, for lo!
I have tasted the bitter of darkness, the sweet of a glow
That spake to the heart of the darkness and bad it depart;
And I kneel to a Presence unknown with the knee of my heart.
And dressed me in garments of splendour, and laid on the bale;
But I rose, and I spake—Let them come, O my father, for lo!
I have tasted the bitter of darkness, the sweet of a glow
That spake to the heart of the darkness and bad it depart;
And I kneel to a Presence unknown with the knee of my heart.
Then the black-vested men with the tonsure were fetched, and I stood,
And knew they were speaking, and bowed me, and knelt to the Rood,
And the tale that they told was the tale of Redemption. I sat,
As one who with ears of the listening hears nothing thereat.
And I know not, have no understanding of how I was taught,
But the rapture and awe was upon me; the vision was brought
That blinded me, glad of the blinding for so could I see
The vision again in its beauty that came unto me;
To me, who should know of the men what they knew and believed,
But could not hold open my eyes for the glory received
On the eye-balls, whose lids were close-shut, to behold Him once more,
The Lord of high fairness and worship I saw heretofore.
And knew they were speaking, and bowed me, and knelt to the Rood,
And the tale that they told was the tale of Redemption. I sat,
As one who with ears of the listening hears nothing thereat.
And I know not, have no understanding of how I was taught,
But the rapture and awe was upon me; the vision was brought
That blinded me, glad of the blinding for so could I see
The vision again in its beauty that came unto me;
To me, who should know of the men what they knew and believed,
But could not hold open my eyes for the glory received
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The Lord of high fairness and worship I saw heretofore.
But, lo! as I looked on Him steadily, dimness dropped down,
And the glory was blotted away in the dusk of a frown
From a Face that I saw not, for no man could live did he see;
And I saw how the Face was in shadow, and slow upon me,
Came the vision, the last of my visions for ever. I knew,
Even I, how a tree was uplifted stark-straight 'gainst the blue,
And a bar ran across it, and wide on that bar were outstretched
The arms of the Mighty, the Glorious; and sighings were fetched
From the heart of the world as the Fairest hung heavily there,
And the lips of Him parted to utter a cry of despair,
The lips that were parched in the anguish of terrible thirst;
And I knew in the depth of my soul how the Last and the First,
With thorns for the crown, and blood-chrism, and cross for the throne,
Was King over Death by His dying. I knew that alone
He entered the place of the veiling, the realms of the shade,
To give God again the lost world which through Him had been made.
The Spirit commended to God and the Body all slack,
And the sun gone away from the heaven and the night-tide come back.
And the glory was blotted away in the dusk of a frown
From a Face that I saw not, for no man could live did he see;
And I saw how the Face was in shadow, and slow upon me,
Came the vision, the last of my visions for ever. I knew,
Even I, how a tree was uplifted stark-straight 'gainst the blue,
And a bar ran across it, and wide on that bar were outstretched
The arms of the Mighty, the Glorious; and sighings were fetched
From the heart of the world as the Fairest hung heavily there,
And the lips of Him parted to utter a cry of despair,
The lips that were parched in the anguish of terrible thirst;
And I knew in the depth of my soul how the Last and the First,
With thorns for the crown, and blood-chrism, and cross for the throne,
Was King over Death by His dying. I knew that alone
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To give God again the lost world which through Him had been made.
The Spirit commended to God and the Body all slack,
And the sun gone away from the heaven and the night-tide come back.
I watched as the hours of His darkness rolled heavily on,
Till the sun rose again, and grew high, and fell low, and was gone;
And the earth passed again into darkness, and kept her embrace
Of the Body in wrappings of linen, the white-covered Face;
And the fragrance of spikenard and myrrh was in every fold
Of the cerements that clung to the Body, so stiff and so cold:
But the tomb was all filled with a fragrance more fragrant than nard,
As the Fairest One lay in the bosom of darkness, and shared
The sleep that's alike for the highest and meanest of men,
Till the earth had passed out of the shadow of darkness, and then—
Oh, gladness exceeding! Oh, light of all splendours the sum!
Oh, glory of praise to love's glory, for Easter has come!
Till the sun rose again, and grew high, and fell low, and was gone;
And the earth passed again into darkness, and kept her embrace
Of the Body in wrappings of linen, the white-covered Face;
And the fragrance of spikenard and myrrh was in every fold
Of the cerements that clung to the Body, so stiff and so cold:
But the tomb was all filled with a fragrance more fragrant than nard,
As the Fairest One lay in the bosom of darkness, and shared
The sleep that's alike for the highest and meanest of men,
Till the earth had passed out of the shadow of darkness, and then—
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Oh, glory of praise to love's glory, for Easter has come!
Then I rose in the light, and I lifted my voice to proclaim
The King, and the Lord and the Master, Christ Jesus, His name.
I spake to the priests, and they listened, and little they said,
But looked upon me as though looking on one who had fed
On the fruitage of Eden, by man unwithheld, unbestowed,
From the hand of no angel, indeed, but the hand of her God.
The King, and the Lord and the Master, Christ Jesus, His name.
I spake to the priests, and they listened, and little they said,
But looked upon me as though looking on one who had fed
On the fruitage of Eden, by man unwithheld, unbestowed,
From the hand of no angel, indeed, but the hand of her God.
But the hearts of my kinsmen were angry because of this thing,
And they fell on the men of good-will and the peace of the King,
And left them all ghastly and broken, bedrenched with their blood,
And they laughed, and they shouted, and maddened, and trampled the Rood.
And late, when I stole through the darkness to help, an I might,
But one of the priests was alive, and I helped him that night,
And we fled from the land through the wilds, in the deep of the shade,
And he sealed me Lord Christ's in a stream that we crossed undismayed;
And he gave me the fairest of names, of the Mother of God.
Me, the first fruits, and only, as then, of the Faith on the sod.
And they fell on the men of good-will and the peace of the King,
And left them all ghastly and broken, bedrenched with their blood,
And they laughed, and they shouted, and maddened, and trampled the Rood.
And late, when I stole through the darkness to help, an I might,
But one of the priests was alive, and I helped him that night,
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And he sealed me Lord Christ's in a stream that we crossed undismayed;
And he gave me the fairest of names, of the Mother of God.
Me, the first fruits, and only, as then, of the Faith on the sod.
So we passed out together, God-guided, until that we came
To the land of a people that knew of the Lord by His name;
He gave me in charge to the Abbess, whose convent looked down
From the height of the hills on the pastures that girded a town;
And there did I pray for my father and each of my kin,
That He who had died for us all would assoil them of sin.
To the land of a people that knew of the Lord by His name;
He gave me in charge to the Abbess, whose convent looked down
From the height of the hills on the pastures that girded a town;
And there did I pray for my father and each of my kin,
That He who had died for us all would assoil them of sin.
Monks bore them the message of peace and good will once again,
And they listened, and bowed the knee low, where the martyrs were slain.
I know, for the merchants have told it, that now in that land,
Where my father once ruled in the might that no man could withstand,
High honour is paid to the Name that is high above names,
And the crucified Maker of man, in allegiance that claims
The soul, and the spirit, and body, is worshipped and loved,
And the idols are swept into darkness, untroubled, unmoved.
And they listened, and bowed the knee low, where the martyrs were slain.
I know, for the merchants have told it, that now in that land,
Where my father once ruled in the might that no man could withstand,
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And the crucified Maker of man, in allegiance that claims
The soul, and the spirit, and body, is worshipped and loved,
And the idols are swept into darkness, untroubled, unmoved.
So now ye have heard me, my Sisters, and know of God's ways
To me and to mine in the flesh, in the spirit, His praise
Be uplifted by me and by mine,—nay, the whole world uplift
Its heart to its Maker and Lover, the Giver, the Gift.
O children He gave me, abide in the love that makes whole,
And pray for the souls that He died for, and pray for my soul.
To me and to mine in the flesh, in the spirit, His praise
Be uplifted by me and by mine,—nay, the whole world uplift
Its heart to its Maker and Lover, the Giver, the Gift.
O children He gave me, abide in the love that makes whole,
And pray for the souls that He died for, and pray for my soul.
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