Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE SACRAMENT OF LIFE AND DEATH, by WILLIAM ARTHUR DUNKERLEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE SACRAMENT OF LIFE AND DEATH, by                    
First Line: Life is god's sacramental gift
Last Line: From all earth's sorrows with god's gift of peace!
Alternate Author Name(s): Oxenham, John
Subject(s): Death; Life; Religion; Sacraments; Dead, The; Theology


Life is God's sacramental gift
To man for his emprising, --
The talent given into his care
For his soul's exercising, --
A sacred trust bestowed on him
For his immortalising.

And He Who lends will one day ask
His own again with interest, --
See to it then, lest thou be found
Of those who failed Him in the test.

His equal gift is Death, --
Death, the Bead-Roller of all noble souls
Whose lives were given to questing noblest goals
Death is no foe, but Everyman's best friend;
Death is Life's true beginning, not its end;
Death is the Opener of the Golden Door
To that high Life which goes from more to more.
Dear Brother Death, who brings us sweet release
From all earth's sorrows with God's gift of Peace!





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