Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE POET PRIEST, by ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN Poet's Biography First Line: Not as of one whom multitudes admire Last Line: In prayers -- and thou shalt meet with me. Subject(s): Clergy; Poetry & Poets; Priests; Rabbis; Ministers; Bishops | ||||||||
Not as of one whom multitudes admire, I believe they call him great; They throng to hear him with a strange desire; They, silent, come and wait, And wonder when he opens wide the gate Of some strange, inner temple, where the fire Is lit on many altars of many dreams -- They wait to catch the gleams -- And then they say, In praiseful words: "'Tis beautiful and grand." And so his way Is strewn with many flowers, sweet and fair; And people say: "How happy he must be to win and wear Praise ev'ry day!" And all the while he stands far out the crowd, Strangely alone. Is it a Stole he wears? -- or mayhap a shroud -- No matter which, his spirit maketh moan; And all the while a lonely, lonesome sense Creeps thro' his days -- all fame's incense Hath not the fragrance of his altar; and He seemeth rather to kneel in lowly prayer Than lift his head aloft amid the Grand: If all the world would kneel down at his feet And give acclaim -- He fain would say: "Oh! No! No! No! The breath of fame is sweet -- but far more sweet Is the breath of Him who lives within my heart; God's breath, which e'en, despite of me, will creep Along the words of merely human art; It cometh from some far-off hidden Deep, Far-off and from so far away -- It filleth night and day." Not as of one who ever, ever cares For earthly praises, not as of such think thou of me, And in the nights and days -- I'll meet with thee In Prayers -- and thou shalt meet with me. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SONG OF THE DEMENTED PRIEST by JOHN BERRYMAN HORATIO ALGER (1834-1899) by MADELINE DEFREES ELEGIES FOR THE OCHER DEER ON THE WALLS AT LASCAUX by NORMAN DUBIE IN THE TIME OF FALSE MESSIAHS; CIRCA 1648 by NORMAN DUBIE THE GUARDIAN OF THE RED DISK (SPOKEN BY A CITIZEN OF MALTA - 1300) by EMMA LAZARUS DOMESDAY BOOK: FATHER WHIMSETT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS DOMESDAY BOOK: REV. PERCY FERGUSON by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THIS SIDE OF CALVIN by PHYLLIS MCGINLEY WHAT WAS LEFT OVER; FOR SUJATA BHATT by ELEANOR WILNER SENTINEL SONGS: 1 by ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN |
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