O PUREST Symbol of the Eternal Son! Who dwelt in thee, as in some sacred shrine, To draw hearts after thee, and make them thine; Norparent only by that light was won, And brethren crouch'd who had in wrath begun, But heathen pomp abased her at the sign And the hid Presence of a guest divine, Till a king heard, and all thou bad'st was done. Then was fulfill'd Nature's dim augury, That "Wisdom, clad in visible form, would be So fair, that all must love and bow the knee;" Lest it might seem, what time the Substance came, Truth lack'd a sceptre, when It but laid by Its beaming front, and bore a willing shame. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PROTESTS (AFTER A PAINTING BY HUGO BALLIN) by LOUIS UNTERMEYER A SPINSTER'S STINT by ALICE CARY EPITAPHS OF THE WAR, 1914-18: 'EQUALITY OF SACRIFICE' by RUDYARD KIPLING ZILLEBEKE BROOK by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN SONNET: 3 by WILLIAM LISLE BOWLES |