Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FOLLOW ME!, by WILLIAM ARTHUR DUNKERLEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FOLLOW ME!, by                    
First Line: Lord, I would follow, but
Last Line: He must be christ's and christ's alone.
Alternate Author Name(s): Oxenham, John
Subject(s): Jesus Christ; Religion; Theology


Lord, I would follow, but --
First, I would see what means that wondrous call
That peals so sweetly through Life's rainbow hall,
That thrills my heart with quivering golden chords,
And fills my soul with joys seraphical.

Lord, I would follow, but --
First, I would leave things straight before I go, --
Collect my dues, and pay the debts I owe;
Lest when I'm gone, and none is here to tend,
Time's ruthless hand my garnering o'erthrow.

Lord, I would follow, but --
First, I would see the end of this high road
That stretches straight before me, fair and broad;
So clear the way I cannot go astray,
It surely leads me equally to God.

Lord, I would follow, -- yea,
Follow I will, -- but first so much there is
That claims me in life's vast emergencies, --
Wrongs to be righted, great things to be done;
Shall I neglect these vital urgencies?

Who answers Christ's insistent call
Must give himself, his life, his all,
Without one backward look.
Who sets his hand unto the plow,
And glances back with anxious brow,
His calling hath mistook.
Christ claims him wholly for His own;
He must be Christ's and Christ's alone.





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