Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE ANGEL'S BIDDING, by ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER Poet's Biography First Line: Not a sound is heard in the convent Last Line: "at the deed you have done to-night." Alternate Author Name(s): Berwick, Mary Subject(s): Angels; Death; Religion; Soul; Dead, The; Theology | ||||||||
NOT a sound is heard in the Convent; The Vesper Chant is sung, The sick have all been tended, The poor nun's toils are ended Till the Matin bell has rung. All is still, save the clock, that is ticking So loud in the frosty air, And the soft snow, falling as gently As an answer to a prayer, But an Angel whispers, "O Sister, You must rise from your bed to pray; In the silent, deserted chapel, You must kneel till the dawn of day; For, far on the desolate moorland, So dreary, and bleak, and white, There is one, all alone and helpless, In peril of death to-night. "No sound on the moorland to guide him, No star in the murky air; And he thinks of his home and his loved ones With the tenderness of despair; He has wandered for hours in the snow-drift, And he strives to stand in vain, And so lies down to dream of his children, And never to rise again. Then kneel in the silent chapel Till the dawn of to-morrow's sun, And ask of the Lord you worship, For the life of that desolate one; And the smiling eyes of his children Will gladden his heart again, And the grateful tears of God's poor ones Will fall on your soul like rain! "Yet, leave him alone to perish, And the grace of your God implore, With all the strength of your spirit, For one who needs it more. Far away, in the gleaming city, Amid perfume, and song, and light, A soul that Jesus has ransomed Is in peril of sin to-night. "The Tempter is close beside him, And his danger is all forgot, And the far-off voices of childhood Call aloud, but he hears them not; He sayeth no prayer, and his mother -- He thinks not of her to-day, And he will not look up to heaven, And his Angel is turning away. "Then pray for a soul in peril, A soul for which Jesus died; Ask, by the cross that bore Him, And by her who stood beside; And the Angels of God will thank you, And bend from their thrones of light, To tell you that Heaven rejoices At the deed you have done to-night." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MYSTIC BOUNCE by TERRANCE HAYES MATHEMATICS CONSIDERED AS A VICE by ANTHONY HECHT UNHOLY SONNET 11 by MARK JARMAN SHINE, PERISHING REPUBLIC by ROBINSON JEFFERS THE COMING OF THE PLAGUE by WELDON KEES A LITHUANIAN ELEGY by ROBERT KELLY A DOUBTING HEART by ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER |
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