Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PROGRESS OF UNBELIEF, by JOHN HENRY NEWMAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PROGRESS OF UNBELIEF, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Now is the autumn of the tree of life
Last Line: Waits but to burn the stem before her idol's throne.
Subject(s): Faith; Belief; Creed


Now is the Autumn of the Tree of Life;
Its leaves are shed upon the unthankful earth,
Which lets them whirl, a prey to the winds' strife,
Heartless to store them for the months of dearth.
Men close the door, and dress the cheerful hearth,
Self-trusting still; and in his comely gear
Of precept and of rite, a household Baal rear.

But I will out amid the sleet, and view
Each shrivelling stalk and silent-falling leaf.
Truth after truth, of choicest scent and hue,
Fades, and in fading stirs the Angels' grief,
Unanswer'd here; for she, once pattern chief
Of faith, my Country, now gross hearted grown,
Waits but to burn the stem before her idol's throne.





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