Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE BALLAD OF JUDAS ISCARIOT, by ROBERT WILLIAMS BUCHANAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BALLAD OF JUDAS ISCARIOT, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Twas the body of judas iscariot
Last Line: And dries them with his hair.
Alternate Author Name(s): Maitland, Thomas
Subject(s): Judas Iscariot (d. 30 A.d.); Mysticism


'T was the body of Judas Iscariot
Lay in the Field of Blood;
'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Beside the body stood.
Black was the earth by night,
And black was the sky;
Black, black were the broken clouds,
Tho' the red Moon went by.
'T was the body of Judas Iscariot
Strangled and dead lay there;
'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Looked on it in despair.
The breath of the World came and went
Like a sick man's in rest;
Drop by drop on the World's eyes
The dews fell cool and blest.
Then the soul of Judas Iscariot
Did make a gentle moan--
"I will bury underneath the ground
My flesh and blood and bone.
"I will bury deep beneath the soil,
Lest mortals look thereon,
And when the wolf and raven come
The body will be gone!
"The stones of the field are sharp as steel,
And hard and bold, God wot;
And I must bear my body hence
Until I find a spot!"
"T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
So grim, and gaunt, and gray,
Raised the body of Judas Iscariot,
And carried it away.
And as he bare it from the field
Its touch was cold as ice,
And the ivory teeth within the jaw
Rattled aloud, like dice.
As the soul of Judas Iscariot
Carried its load with pain,
The Eye of Heaven, like a lanthorn's eye,
Opened and shut again.
Half he walked, and half he seemed
Lifted on the cold wind;
He did not turn, for chilly hands
Were pushing from behind.
The first place that he came unto
It was the open wold,
And underneath were prickly whins,
And a wind that blew so cold.
The next place that he came unto
It was a stagnant pool,
And when he threw the body in
It floated light as wool.
He drew the body on his back,
And it was dripping chill,
And the next place that he came unto
Was a Cross upon a hill.
A Cross upon the windy hill,
And a Cross on either side,
Three skeletons that swing thereon,
Who had been crucified.
And on the middle cross-bar sat
A white Dove slumbering;
Dim it sat in the dim light,
With its head beneath its wing.
And underneath the middle Cross
A grave yawned wide and vast,
But the soul of Judas Iscariot
Shivered, and glided past.
The fourth place that he came unto
It was the Brig of Dread,
And the great torrents rushing down
Were deep, and swift, and red.
He dared not fling the body in
For fear of faces dim,
And arms were waved in the wild water
To thrust it back to him.
"T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Turned from the Brig of Dread,
And the dreadful foam of the wild water
Had splashed the body red.
For days and nights he wandered on
Upon an open plain,
And the days went by like blinding mist,
And the nights like rushing rain.
For days and nights he wandered on,
All thro' the Wood of Woe;
And the nights went by like moaning wind,
And the days like drifting snow.
'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Came with a weary face--
Alone, alone,and all alone,
Alone in a lonely place!
He wandered east, he wandered west
And heard no human sound;
For months and years, in grief and tears,
He wandered round and round.
For months and years, in grief and tears,
He walked the silent night;
Then the soul of Judas Iscariot
Perceived a far-off light.
A far-off light across the waste,
As dim as dim might be,
That came and went like a lighthouse gleam
On a black night at sea.
'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Crawled to the distant gleam;
And the rain came down, and the rain was blown
Against him with a scream.
For days and nights he wandered on,
Pushed on by hands behind;
And the days went by like black, black rain,
And the nights like rushing wind.
'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot,
Strange, and sad, and tall,
Stood all alone at dead of night
Before a lighted hall.
And the wold was white with snow.
And his foot-marks black and damp,
And the ghost of the silver Moon arose,
Holding her yellow lamp.
And the icicles were on the eaves,
And the walls were deep with white,
And the shadows of the guests within
Passed on the window light.
The shadows of the wedding guests
Did strangely come and go,
And the body of Judas Iscariot
Lay stretched along the snow.
The body of Judas Iscariot
Lay sretched along the snow;
'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Ran swiftly to and fro.
To and fro, and up and down,
He ran so swiftly there,
As round and round the frozen Pole
Glideth the lean white bear.
'T was the Bridegroom sat at the table-head,
And the lights burned bright and clear--
"Oh, who is that," the Bridegroom said,
"Whose weary feet I hear?"
'T was one looked from the lighted hall,
And answered soft and slow,
"It is a wolf runs up and down
With a black track in the snow."
The Bridegroom in his robe of white
Sat at the table-head--
"Oh, who is that who moans without?"
The blessed Bridegroom said.
"T was one looked from the lighted hall,
and answered fierce and low,
"'T is the soul of Judas Iscariot
Gliding to and fro."
'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Did hush itself and stand,
And saw the Bridegroom at the door
With a light in his hand.
The Bridegroom stood in the open door,
And he was clad in white,
And far within the Lord's Supper
Was spread so long and bright.
The Bridegroom shaded his eyes and looked,
And his face was bright to see--
"What dost thou here at the Lord's Supper
With thy body's sins?" said he.
'Twas the soul of Judas Iscariot
Stood black, and sad, and bare--
"I have wandered many nights and days;
There is no light elsewhere,"
'T was the wedding guests cried out within,
And their eyes were fierce and bright--
"Scourge the soul of Judas Iscariot
Away into the night!"
The Bridegroom stood in the open door,
And he waved hands still and slow,
And the third time that he waved his hands
The air was thick with snow.
And of every flake of falling snow,
Before it touched the ground,
There came a dove, and a thousand doves
Made sweet sound.
'T was the body of Judas Iscariot
Floated away full fleet,
And the wings of the doves that bare it off
Were like its winding-sheet.
'T was the Bridegroom stood at the open door,
And beckoned, smiling sweet;
'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Stole in, and fell at his feet.
"The holy Supper is spread within,
And the many candles shine,
And I have waited long for thee
Before I poured the wine!"
The supper wine is poured at last,
The lights burn bright and fair,
Iscariot washes the Bridegroom's feet,
And dries them with his hair.




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