Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, EXCLUSIONS, by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

EXCLUSIONS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: If I would talk with god, my hasty tongue
Last Line: To reach thy hand, thy bosom, and thy face!
Subject(s): Worship


If I would talk with God, my hasty tongue
Must hold itself for that high converse pure,
As one who has appointment with a king
Scorns gossip with a minion at the gate.
If I would listen to the voice of God,
I dare not hear the prattlement of men,
The bargaining, the vaunting, the untruth,
The words that crawl and sting; for ears have room
For somewhat, and no more. If I would walk
Beside my God, His comrade and His friend,
I must go His way, He will not go mine.
If I would own the wealth of God, the gold,
The gems of affluent heaven, like the dross
Of basest refuse I must hurl away
The spoil of greed and all the miser's glut.
If I would know the wondrous lore of God,
What sciences I shall not dare to know!
If I would wield the awful power of God,
How I must sink myself in helplessness!
If I would revel in the love of God,
What lesser loves must I disdain to serve!
O Infinite, O Lover, O Supreme,
Father and Leader and unfailing Friend,
What littles must I gladly lose for Thee,
What nothings must I tread beneath my feet
To reach Thy hand, Thy bosom, and Thy face!





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