Classic and Contemporary Poetry
AFTER THIS THE JUDGEMENT, by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: As eager homebound traveller to the goal Last Line: Thy life then ransomed mine, my god, my god! Alternate Author Name(s): Alleyne, Ellen; Rossetti, Christina Subject(s): Jesus Christ; Pilgrimages & Pilgrims | ||||||||
As eager homebound traveller to the goal, Or steadfast seeker on an unsearched main, Or martyr panting for an aureole, My fellow-pilgrims pass me, and attain That hidden mansion of perpetual peace Where keen desire and hope dwell free from pain. That gate stands open of perennial ease; I view the glory till I partly long, Yet lack the fire of love which quickens these. O passing Angel, speed me with a song, A melody of heaven to reach my heart And rouse me to the race and make me strong; Till in such music I take up my part Swelling those Hallelujahs full of rest, One, tenfold, hundredfold, with heavenly art, Fulfilling north and south and east and west, Thousand, ten thousandfold, innumerable, All blent in one yet each one manifest; Each one distinquished and beloved as well As if no second voice in earth and heaven Were lifted up the Love of God to tell. Ah Love of God, which Thine own Self hast given To me most poor, and made me rich in love, Love that dost pass the tenfold seven times seven, Draw Thou mine eyes, draw Thou my heart above, My treasure and my heart store Thou in Thee; Brood over me with yearnings of a dove; Be Husband, Brother, closest Friend to me; Love me as a very mother loves her son, Her suckling firstborn fondled on her knee; Yea, more than mother loves her little one; For, earthly, even a mother may forget And feel no pity for its piteous moan. But Thou, O Love of God, remember yet, Through the dry desert, through the waterflood (Life, death), until the Great White Throne is set. If now I am sick in chewing the bitter cud Of sweet past sin, though solaced by Thy grace And ofttimes strengthened by Thy Flesh and Blood, How shall I then stand up before Thy face When from Thine eyes repentance shall be hid And utmost Justice stand in Mercy's place, When every sin I thought or spoke or did Shall me at the inexorable bar, And there be no man standing in the mid To plead for me; while star fallen after star With heaven and earth are like a ripened shock, And all time's mighty works and wonders are Consumed as in a moment; when no rock Remains to fall on me, no tree to hide, But I stand all creation's gazing-stock, Exposed and comfortless on every side, Placed trembling in the final balances Whose poise this hour, this moment, must be tried. - Ah Love of God, if greater love than this Hath no man, that a man die for his friend, And if such love of love Thine own Love is, Plead with Thyself, with me, before the end; Redeem me from the irrevocable past; Pitch Thou Thy Presence round me to defend; Yea seek with pierced feet, yea hold me fast With pierced hands whose wounds were made by love. Not what I am, remember what Thou wast When darkness hid from Thee Thy heavens above, And sin Thy Father's Face, while Thou didst drink The bitter cup of death, didst taste thereof For every man; while Thou wast nigh to sink Beneath the intense intolerable rod, Grown sick of love; not what I am, but think Thy Life then ransomed mine, my God, my God! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MOTHS: 1. CIRCA 1582 by NORMAN DUBIE THE MOTHS: 1. CIRCA 1952 by NORMAN DUBIE GOAL by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE PILGRIM by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS THE PILGRIM [SONG], FR. THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS by JOHN BUNYAN UP-HILL by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI AT ELLIS ISLAND by MARGARET LIVINGSTON CHANLER ALDRICH FAREWELL TO THE PILGRIMS by THEODORE M. BAKKE THE PILGRIM by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD IT IS FINISHED' by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI ITALIA, IO TI SALUTO!' by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI THE HEART KNOWETH ITS OWN BITTERNESS' (2) by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI |
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