Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, VISION OR DREAM, by OLIVER MURRAY EDWARDS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

VISION OR DREAM, by                    
First Line: On a bed of soft mosses, I lay 'neath the trees
Last Line: He went as he came—in vision or dream.
Subject(s): Bible; Books; Dreams; Knowledge; Modern Man; Religious Education; Teaching & Teachers; Reading; Nightmares; Sunday Schools; Yeshivas; Parochial Schools; Educators; Professors


On a bed of soft mosses, I lay 'neath the trees,
There was rippling of waters and droning of bees;
I was lost to the world with its cares and its woes
When a stranger appeared clad in clerical clothes.
A most charming person, I quite plainly could see,
And he smiled as he said: "I am sure we agree
For we have the same Father, so Brothers are we,
And thy Christ is my Christ—He is Jesus to me.

"Inspired by God's Spirit, back in old Galilee,
A wonderful teacher beyond question was He;
A model to follow—to improve if we can,
A real inspiration, a true pattern for man.
Thy Bible, my Bible, should receive special care
So truth that is modern can be reconciled there;
With one thought to conserve and no thought to destroy,
To revise the old Book we our minds should employ.

"Learned scholars should write with the light of today.
There should be much revision with parts torn away.
Give the Book a new name—The Revised Word Of Man,
Inspired Evolution, Scientific in Plan!"
Like an Angel of Light his fair presence did seem
While I lay 'neath his spell as if lost in a dream;
Like a man in a trance I could hear, I could see,
Bewildered, I listened as he discoursed to me.
"That Book now so ancient, work of primitive man,
We should, in revision, save in part if we can.
Aesop's fables I cite as a parallel case—
Such tales in our Bible should have no part or place.
While old superstitions and folklore may appeal,
'Tis the mind, not the heart, that all truth doth reveal.
The true light of Science should light us on our way,
Give the preachers real food for the hungry today.

"The Garden of Eden is a fanciful tale;
The fable of Jonah in a submarine whale;
Virgin Birth, Miracles, and Redemption—inane!
Resurrection, Ascension, and Coming Again!
Scientific research links the monkey with Man;
Creative transition is Dame Nature's one plan.
'Tis through evolution Man becomes his own God;
Progressive advancement is a creed that is broad.

"A creed most appealing that is free from all flaws,
God fettered and helpless and made subject to laws.
A creed that all peoples could subscribe to and bless;
That no one would question, and none fail to confess.
'Twould give us a textbook that is modern in thought
For use in all classrooms where religion is taught;
With Man made his own God, then we all would be free;
I know of no reason why we should not agree!"

'Twas then God's Spirit did awake
My slumbering soul and thus I spake:
"The reason thou dost know full well,
'Tis Satan from the depths of Hell
Who would destroy the Written Word,
Inviolate, inspired by God,
On which is built Faith, Hope and Love,
Man's stepping stones to Heaven above.

"The road o'er which our fathers trod
Still leads to Heaven and to God.
Would man depart that good old way
For modern airships of today?
'Tis Fundamental to stand by,
'Tis Modern to desert and fly.
If man or devil, thou must die,
If thou the God of Heaven defy."

And as he faded from out of my sight,
I gazed on the ground in the shaded light.
Then over my senses there dawned the truth,
For I saw the print of a cloven hoof.
The Devil himself an Angel did seem;
He went as he came—in vision or dream.





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