Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold By "F. Harald Williams"[i.e. F. W. O. Ward]. First Edition |
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REGAINED IN GOD. |
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REGAINED IN GOD.
Dear God, it seems so passing strange, I should presume to bePartaker of Thy bounteous change and its o'er brimming sea;
And take from Thee for every hour the riches I love best,
A world, a woman, or a flower a moment on the breast;
And clothe me from Thy wardrobe large beneath the blessed sky,
Or toy with pebbles on the marge of old Eternity;
And at Thy common table feed on beauty, and rare food
That satisfies each selfish need and most imperious mood;
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Or leap in glory from the night of Thy exceeding day;
And yet give less than nothing back to Thee Who givest all,
Save just the refuse and the wrack of some half-sorrowed fall.
Dear God, it never can be right or justly dared and done
To warm my life in boundless Light and offer to Thee none;
I were the meanest basest thing, upon Thy wealth to draw
And mix it with a muddy spring or serve a lower law;
I am not worthy of the name that reckons me as man,
To follow my own shade and shame and use Thy nobler plan.
O if I breathe this vital air and bask in heaven's blue rift,
Or gather bloom of all things fair—let me confess Thy gift.
The sweetness and the joy that flow through every channel fine,
From Thee the glamour and the glow reflect and are divine,
I cannot, will not flout Thee more; whate'er I have or be,
I give myself, my heart, my store—to find again in Thee.
| Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold | |