Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ATONEMENT, by MARIE LE NART


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ATONEMENT, by                    
First Line: Atonement? Lord, who doth atone today?
Last Line: Forgive us—we know not what we do!
Subject(s): Gethsemane; Jesus Christ - Suffering & Sacrifice


Atonement? Lord, who doth atone today?
Uplifted on the Cross, canst thou not see
Atonement died somewhere along the way
Between the Tomb and dark Gethsemane?

Thine be the hyssop and the bitter draught,
Thine be the anguish and the ridicule:
They were not all at Calvary who laughed—
The knave, the soldier, Pharisee and fool!

They were not all at Calvary who bid
Their tawdry baubles for thy seamless robe,
Or, while the very sun its radiance hid,
The spear upraised, thy tortured flesh to probe.

And yet, dear Lord, a few keep watch with thee,
A few thy truth with earnest hearts still seek,
Like those who slumbered through thine agony—
The spirit willing, though the flesh be weak.

And so, with traitor, thief and Magdalene,
In thine immortal prayer include us too,
And by the sacrifice that maketh clean
Forgive us—we know not what we do!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net