Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BEFORE BATTLE, by SAMUEL ROTH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BEFORE BATTLE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: We have toiled, o lord, with our blood and might
Last Line: Our faith in thee.
Subject(s): God; Jews; Pain; Praise; Judaism; Suffering; Misery


WE have toiled, O Lord, with our blood and might
And have offered a hymn to Thee;
And in pain and rage we have spent our light,
And our nights in misery;
We have dug the trench and built the site,
That we might be near to Thee;
O Lord our God, we have spent our light
In search of Thee.

Garish culture we spurned as we spurned all things
That were not in the grace of Thee;
And we bowed our heads and our hearts to kings
Who wore crowns by their claims in Thee;
In the deep of night we have sung Thy praise,
Unperishing songs of Thee;
O Lord our God, we have spent our days
In praise of Thee.

We've preserved our flesh from the joys of lust
That we might be clean with Thee;
We have fed our souls on the dryest dust,
That we might keep true to Thee;
We have fought, and many the odds have stood,
We have conquered the world for Thee;
O Lord our God, we have spilled our blood
For love of Thee.

We have toiled, O Lord, with our blood and might,
And have offered a hymn to Thee;
Yet our days You've cursed with the gloom of night,
And our nights with misery;
We have kept our faith through the bitterest strife,
Through the bitterest strife for Thee;
O Lord our God, take of our dust,
Our faith in Thee.





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