Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SON, by JOACHIM GASQUET Poet's Biography First Line: I wish no more to walk the night. My heart Last Line: And to the paradise thou namest love' Subject(s): Jesus Christ; Kisses; Love; Sons | ||||||||
I WISH no more to walk the night. My heart Would fain adore and worship, yea, and start Unto the fount of life and Mercy's springs. To Thee, O God, my soul its offering brings -- This pitiable flesh, this foolish mind. I thirst and hunger for Thee, Lord, and, blind, I seek Love's sign; one look would nourish me. Tired am I of the maze of vanity And from the worldly fair my soul comes back. Trembling it lies before Thee, naked, black, Stifling its cries and stretching hands in plea, 'Twixt hope and doubt, yet not beholding Thee. Thy Light has said: "My son, love solitude, E'en though the way to Me be sad and rude And thou art still constrained to turn aside. Oft thou shalt wipe thy sweaty brow and chide, Yet bid the sinful lusts within thee die; Yea, strangle all thy sins and mortify The follies that with kisses fill thy mouth, And I will light thy mind and quench thy drouth." Thy Love has said: "Let there be peace within! Break bread with all; to thee the poor are kin. By love thy heart's salvation shall be won; My Mother's arm shall aid thee, O My son. The wine thou pourest and the alms love-given Shall plait the immortal crown for thee in heaven. Beside the dying thou shalt kneel with Me And in the hearts disconsolate shalt see Thy Saviour's visage. What shall worldly lore Or all the wisdom of the seers of yore Advantage thee, if thou lift not from dread Thy brother's soul, give neither oil nor bread Such as the widow kneaded 'neath the smile Of God My Father? O My son, not guile Shall bring thee to Me. Thy belief is loss If thou shalt leave Me lone to bear My cross And lay thee down when others quake and groan. "In that dark garden where the apostles prayed And I besought the Almighty in the shade, Yea, when My Agony dropped bloody sweat I saw thee, O My son; My cheeks were wet For all the sinners of the world. I bled For them, for thee, the live, the unborn, the dead. It was for all, for thee, that, 'spite the scorns, In love I girt My brows with grievous thorns. It was for thee, for all, My Mother's hands Embraced My pierced feet, and that the bands About My Tomb were bound and, spirit-shod, Upon the third day I arose. . . ." O God, The Father and the Son, bind up this heart Of wretchedness. Thy crucifixion's smart I have forgotten in Life's vanities. How came they to be more desired than this? I weep and fall with burden of my shame; And yet my heart in measure could not claim One drop of all the sorrow-foaming flood That bathed Thy broken body with its blood. But now Thy Word speaks to me: "Cling, O cling! For thou hast found the Jews' derided King And Him for Whose rich robe the dice were cast. My son, dost thou behold Me? Now at last I fill thee as I did Jerusalem. Adore! I am the Babe of Bethlehem, Master of Lazarus and the Magdalene. Oh, weep, weep, weep until thy soul is clean, For I am that I am. The sorrows sing The golden psalms of David e'er a-wing Before My footsteps, and the teardrops shine With all the brightness of the dews divine. Come unto Me. In Me the souls on fire, Ever increasing, are a jubilant choir. My son, Oh, look not back on Bypath Meadow And thou shalt leave the Valley of the Shadow, Where Sin has so bemired thee. Say not nay, But let Me draw thee. Lo, I lead the way For thy transfigured soul to God above And to the paradise thou namest Love' | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE LATEST INJURY by SHARON OLDS PRAYER DURING A TIME MY SON IS HAVING SEIZURES by SHARON OLDS TWO SONGS OF PEACE: 1 by YEHUDA AMICHAI THE SMALLISH SON by HAYDEN CARRUTH SARAH'S PROMISE by LUCILLE CLIFTON ANY MAN'S ADVICE TO HIS SON by KENNETH FEARING THE RIGHTFUL ONE by DAVID IGNATOW PRIMORDIAL SPRINGS by JOACHIM GASQUET |
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