Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ST. MARY OF EGYPT, by JOHN BANISTER TABB Poet's Biography First Line: Strong to suffer, strong to sin Last Line: Self the sacrifice of love. Alternate Author Name(s): Father Tabb Subject(s): Mary Of Egypt, Saint (344-421); Sin | ||||||||
Strong to suffer, strong to sin, Loving much, and much forgiven, In the desert realm a queen, Penance-crowned, to cope with Heaven, Solitude alone could be Room enough for God and thee. Long the vigil, stern the fast; Morn, with night's anointing, chill; Noon with passion overcast; Night with phantoms fouler still; Prayer and penitential tears Battling with the lust of years. Low upon the parching sand, Shrivelled in the blight of day, As beneath a throbbing brand Prone thy ghastly shadow lay, Till the manacles of hell From thy fevered spirit fell. Then, O queen of solitude! Silence led thee as a bride, Clothed anew in maidenhood, To an altar purified, Lit with holy fires, to prove Self the sacrifice of love. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SEVEN STREAMS OF NEVIS by GALWAY KINNELL CHANEL NO. 5 by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR BROTHERS: 4. IN MY OWN DEFENSE by LUCILLE CLIFTON THE RING AND THE CASTLE by AMY LOWELL APPELLATE JURISDICTION by MARIANNE MOORE ANONYMOUS by JOHN BANISTER TABB |
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