 | Sonnets Round the Coast |  |
109
XXXIII. THE IMPERISHABLE GOSPEL.
A LEGEND OF THE SOLWAY.
When, close behind, the Danish robbers cried,And Lorton's lap no longer gave them rest,
They bore Saint Cuthbert's body to the west,
And fain beyond the wave their trust would hide;
Against the vessel rose a sea, whose tide
Rolled back the Saint with blood, as if its breast
Were wounded to the heart, and all confessed
At Derwent's mouth the body must abide.
With loss it rose, with gain the tide sank low;
The monks who sought their Gospel of the Lord,
Wave-washed from out the ship, found whole and fair
The jewelled gift of Eadfrid: storms may throw
Such jewels overboard, but God will care,
And lo, with added salt, regives His Word.
| Sonnets Round the Coast | |