 | Diana's Looking Glass and Other Poems by Charles D. Bell |  |
52
A LEGEND OF ST. PETER.
In days of persecution fierce and dread,
When all who Christ as very God adored
Were thrown to lions, slain with fire and sword,
The timid Peter from Rome's city fled,
Whose guilty streets with blood of saints were red.
When on the Appian Way he met his Lord,
Whose face betray'd a heart with sorrow stirr'd,
And whose pathetic eyes held tears unshed.
When all who Christ as very God adored
Were thrown to lions, slain with fire and sword,
The timid Peter from Rome's city fled,
Whose guilty streets with blood of saints were red.
When on the Appian Way he met his Lord,
Whose face betray'd a heart with sorrow stirr'd,
And whose pathetic eyes held tears unshed.
“Lord, whither goest Thou?” the Apostle cried,
“What wounds are those which in Thy hands I see?”
“To Calvary I haste where once I died,
For thee to die again upon the tree,”
Then Peter, conscience-stricken for his sin,
Turned back to Rome a martyr's crown to win.
“What wounds are those which in Thy hands I see?”
“To Calvary I haste where once I died,
For thee to die again upon the tree,”
Then Peter, conscience-stricken for his sin,
Turned back to Rome a martyr's crown to win.
| Diana's Looking Glass and Other Poems by Charles D. Bell | |