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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS, by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH Poem Explanation Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Kind was my friend who, in the eastern land Last Line: The patient christ, and mary at the tomb! Subject(s): Christianity; Islam | |||
KIND was my friend who, in the Eastern land, Remembered me with such a gracious hand, And sent this Moorish Crescent which has been Worn on the haughty bosom of a queen. No more it sinks and rises in unrest To the soft music of her heathen breast; No barbarous chief shall bow before it more, No turbaned slave shall envy and adore. I place beside this relic of the Sun A Cross of Cedar brought from Lebanon, Once borne, perchance, by some pale monk who trod The desert to Jerusalem -- and his God. Here do they lie, two symbols of two creeds, Each meaning something to our human needs, Both stained with blood, and sacred made by faith, By tears, and prayers, and martyrdom, and death. That for the Moslem is, but this for me! The waning Crescent lacks divinity: It gives me dreams of battles, and the woes Of women shut in dim seraglios. But when this Cross of simple wood I see, The Star of Bethlehem shines again for me, And glorious visions break upon my gloom -- The patient Christ, and Mary at the Tomb! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 1. ALLAH by EDWIN ARNOLD PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 10. AL-JABBAR by EDWIN ARNOLD PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 11. AL-MUTAKABBIR by EDWIN ARNOLD PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 12. THE CREATOR by EDWIN ARNOLD PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 13. AL-BARI by EDWIN ARNOLD PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 14. AL-MUZAWWIR by EDWIN ARNOLD PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 15. AL-GHAFFAR by EDWIN ARNOLD PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 16. AL-KAHHAR by EDWIN ARNOLD AFTER THE RAIN by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH AN ALPINE PICTURE by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH AN ODE ON THE UNVEILING OF THE SHAW MEMORIA BOSTON COMMON, MAY 31, 1897 by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |
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