Thorn of silvery dew Hide not a long shamed face, But lift your head to wind's embrace And sing unto the moon anew. Aye, yes, your naked thorns Once cut His snowy brow In human hate which men will ever disavow. Uplift your head unto the morn's Unsmudging kiss, and from its lips receive A joy untrammeled with disgrace: You were His crown! You hid His face From their cruel torments. Rest. Believe. Soiled by fingers rude, Tangled by men who tore You from a maiden stem and bore To altars vast: so thus imbued Above all crowns of gold, Yet bent in shame, you stand Where sanctity has touched you with His hand And flecked you with His blood. You hold Dominion over fronds of victory, Or over peaceful olive trees: For when your odors ride the breeze, I hear again the Christ in agony. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CAPUT MORTUUM by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON DISCORDANTS: 1 by CONRAD AIKEN THE SEEDLING by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR BLOUDIE JACKE OF SHREWSBERRIE; THE SHROPSHIRE BLUEBEARD by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM |