King Alfred's Poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

One, only One, made all the heavens and earth;
Doubtless, to Him all beings owe their birth;
And, guided by His care,
Are all, who therein dwell unseen of us,
And these whom we can look at, living thus
In land and sea and air.

He is Almighty: Him all things obey,
That in such bondage know how blest are they;
Who have so good a king;
Those also serve, who thereof know not aught
Dutiful work, however little thought,
As bondslaves they must bring.

He hath set out in kindred kindness still
Duties and laws to work his changeless will,
And, after his own mind,
That which he will'd, so long as will he would,
He will'd that everything for ever should
Thenceforward keep its kind.

Never may restless things to rest attain,
And from that settled circle turn in vain
Which order's God hath given,
He hath set fast, and check'd them each and all
By the strong measured bridle of his call
To rest, or to be driven,

As he, great Word, the leathern reins of might
Holds loose in his right hand, or draws them tight;
For he hath stretch'd along
His bridle over earth, air, sea, and beach,
That all things, leaning fastly each on each,
By double strife stand strong.

For, ever as at first the Father bade,
In the same ways of running that he made
Still changing though unchanged,
By strife most steady keeping peace most true
Our Free-Lord's handicraft, so old yet new,
Is evermore arranged.

Thus earth and seastream, fire and water thus
And all great things about or far from us,
Betwixt themselves hold strife,
Yet so good fellowship all fastly keep,
And render bondage true, and duty deep
To him who lent their life.

Nor only thus, that, each the rest to please,
Whitherward things together dwell at ease,
But, far more strange than so,
Nor one, but on its thwarter still depends
And lives on that which while it harms befriends,
Lest it too great should grow.

Wisely the mighty Framer of the world
Hath set this turn-about for ever twirl'd,
Yet ever still to stay;
The sprouting wort shoots greenly from root,
And dying, then, in harvest yields its fruit
To live another day.

Winter brings weather cold, swift winds and snow;
Summer comes afterward with warming glow;
By night outshines the moon;
Till o'er this wide-seen world the day up-springs,
And to all men the sun returning brings
Her welcome brightness soon.

So also, God hath bounded sea and land:
The fishy kind, except at his command,
On earth may never swim:
Nor can the sea earth's threshold overleap,
Nor can the earth, beyond the tide at neap,
O'erstep the sea's wide rim.

These things the Source and Spring of life and light,
The Lord of wielded might, by his will's right,
Biddeth their bounds to keep,
Until the Everliving one makes burst
The curbing bridle set on all at first,
And so unreins the deep.

By rein and bridle in a hint I teach
The waywardness of all things each on each;
For, if the Ruler will'd
The thongs to slacken, things would soon forsake
All love and peace, and wilful evil make
Instead of good fulfill'd.

Each after its own selfish will would strive,
Till none of things on earth were left alive
In such bewrestling stern;
And in like manner other things unseen
Would be as if they never then had been,
All brought to nought in turn.

But the same God, who meteth all things thus,
Makes folk to be at peace with all and us,
In friendship true and fast:
He knits together in a love most fond
Unending wedlock, and the kindred bond
For evermore to last.

So too, the skill'd All-worker well unites
The fellowship of men in friendly rights,
That they may live at peace
In simple truthfulness and single strength
Thenceforth for ever of one mind at length
To make all evil cease.

O God All-conquering! this lower earth
Would be for men the blest abode of mirth
If they were strong in Thee,
As other things of this world well are seen;
O then, far other than they yet have been
How happy would men be!