Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE SHRINE by HARRY RANDOLPH BLYTHE

First Line: ALONE, WITH HARDENED EYES WHICH SHED NO TEARS
Last Line: AND LO! MY LIPS BURST FORTH IN PRAISE TO GOD.
Subject(s): CHILDHOOD MEMORIES; SOLITUDE; LONELINESS;

ALONE, with hardened eyes which shed no tears,
Accursed of men and wounded sore by fate,
I turned through Memory's secret wicket gate
In search of solace for my fiendish fears.
It seemed I walked among my prayerless years
Marshaled like cypress trees, each tree sedate,
Yet blighted at the heart by sin or hate,
And having not the beauty which endears.
Then pressing far I found a hidden shrine,
Whereat my youthful footsteps once had trod;
So crumbled was it I could scarce divine
Faint letters I had carved above the sod,
But peering close I read, "Lord, I am Thine,"
And lo! my lips burst forth in praise to God.



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