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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE KISS OF GOD, by JOHN WHITE CHADWICK Poet's Biography First Line: When the great leader's task was done Last Line: It is not hard to die. Subject(s): Death; Jews; Mourning; Dead, The; Judaism; Bereavement | |||
WHEN the great leader's task was done, He stood on Pisgah's height, And saw, far off, the westering sun Drop down into the night; Saw, too, the land in which, alas! He might not hope to dwell Spread fairly out; and then—for so Talmudic legends tell—. Jehovah touched him and he slept; And smooth the mountain sod Was levelled o'er him and 'twas writ "Died by the kiss of God." The kiss of God! We talk of death In many learned ways,— We know so much,—which of them all So simple in its praise As this which from the oldest days Has treasured been apart, To comfort in this heel of time The mourner's aching heart? We walk our bright or desert road And, when we reach the end, Bends o'er us with gentle face The Universal Friend. Upon our lips his own are laid: We do not strive or cry. The kiss of God! Upon that kiss It is not hard to die. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HUNGERFIELD by ROBINSON JEFFERS THE MOURNER by LOUISE MOREY BOWMAN HECUBA MOURNS by MARILYN NELSON THERE IS NO GOD BUT by AGHA SHAHID ALI IF I COULD MOURN LIKE A MOURNING DOVE by FRANK BIDART THE MAKING OF MAN by JOHN WHITE CHADWICK |
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