Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ABRAHAM, by JOHN STUART BLACKIE Poem Explanation Poet's Biography First Line: I will sing a song of heroes Last Line: On east and west with brothered rays. Subject(s): Abraham; Bible; God; Jews; Judaism | ||||||||
I WILL sing a song of heroes, Crowned with manhood's diadem, Men that lift us when we love them Into nobler life with them. I will sing a song of heroes To their God-sent mission true, From the ruin of the old time Grandly forth to shape the new: Men that, like a strong-winged zephyr, Come with freshness and with power, Bracing fearful hearts to grapple With the problem of the hour: Men whose prophet-voice of warning Stirs the dull, and spurs the slow, Till the big heart of a people Swells with hopeful overflow. I will sing the song of Terah, Abraham in tented state, With his sheep and goats and asses, Bearing high behests from Fate; Journeying from beyond Euphrates, Where cool Orfa's bubbling well Lured the Greek and lured the Roman, By its verdurous fringe to dwell. When he left the flaming idols, Sun by day and Moon by night, To believe in something deeper Than the shows that brush the sight, And, as a traveller wisely trusteth To a practiced guide and true, So he owned the Voice that called him From the faithless Heathen crew. And he travelled from Damascus Southward where the torrent tide Of the sons of Ammon mingles With the Jordan's swelling pride. To the pleasant land of Schechem, To the flowered and fragrant ground 'Twixt Mount Ebal and Gerizim, Where the bubbling wells abound. To the stony slopes of Bethel, And to Hebron's greening glade, Where the grapes with weighty fruitage Droop beneath the leafy shade. And he pitched his tent in Mamre, 'Neath an oak-tree tall and broad And with pious care an altar Built there to the one true God. And the voice of God came near him, And the angels of the Lord 'Neath the broad and leafy oak-tree Knew his hospitable board; And they hailed him with rare blessing For all peoples richly stored, Father of the faithful, elect Friend of God, Almighty Lord. And he sojourned 'mid the people With high heart and weighty arm, Wise to rein their wandering worship, Strong to shield their homes from harm. And fat Nile's proud Pharaohs owned him, As a strong, God-favored man, Like Osiris casting broadly Largess to the human clan. And he lived long years a witness To a pure high-thoughted creed, That in ripeness of the ages Grew to serve our mortal need. Not a priest and not a churchman From all proud pretentions free, Shepherd chief and shepherd-warrior Human-faced like you and me: Human-faced and human-hearted, To the pure religion true, Purer than the gay and sensuous Grecian, wider than the Jew. Common sire, whom Jew and Christian, Turk and Arab, name and praise; Common as the sun that shines On East and West with brothered rays. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE RABBI'S SON-IN-LAW by SABINE BARING-GOULD A LITTLE HISTORY by DAVID LEHMAN FOR I WILL CONSIDER YOUR DOG MOLLY by DAVID LEHMAN JEWISH GRAVEYARDS, ITALY by PHILIP LEVINE NATIONAL THOUGHTS by YEHUDA AMICHAI SOUNDS OF THE RESURRECTED DEAD MAN'S FOOTSTEPS (#3): 2. ANGEL ... by MARVIN BELL BEAUTIFUL WORLD! by JOHN STUART BLACKIE |
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