Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE CROSS by CHARLES NELSON PACE

First Line: THE CROSS IS SUCH A SIMPLE THING
Last Line: BY ONE IDENTIFIED WITH IT.
Subject(s): CROSS, THE; JESUS CHRIST;

The Cross is such a simple thing,
Yet of it men may talk and sing.

It is a ladder to the skies,
On which a mounting soul may rise.

It is a signboard on the road,
To cheer man with his weary load.

It is a key that fits the door
To joyousness forever more.

It signals to the human race
That God in mercy offers grace.

To some it is a stumbling block
That causes men to curse and mock;

To others who their sins bemoan
It can become a stepping stone.

To voyagers its sturdy form
Becomes an anchor in the storm.

A hammer, it has won renown
By battering old oppressions down.

Gripped by still others as a sword,
It has won battles for the Lord.

Dragged as a ploughshare through the heart,
New furrows cause the grain to start.

It is a tree upon a hill,
Whose fruit the hungry heart can fill.

It is a window for the soul;
'Tis medicine to make one whole.

The Cross is such a simple thing,
And yet it touches everything.

We cannot feel that such a sign
Is other than a power divine.

It is a beacon ever lit
By One identified with it.



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