‘Hello, Soldier!’

Unredeemed

Edward Dyson


I SAW the Christ down from His cross,
    A tragic man lean-limbed and tall,
But weighed with suffering and loss.
    His back was to a broken wall,
And out upon the tameless world
    Was fixed His gaze His piercing eye
Beheld the towns to ruin hurled,
    And saw the storm of death pass by.

Two thousand years it was since first
    He offered to the race of men
His sovran boon. As one accurst
    They nailed Him to the jibbet then,
And while they mocked Him for their mirth
    He smiled, and from the hill of pain
To all the hating tribes of earth
    Held forth His wondrous gift again.

To-day the thorns were on His brow,
    His grief was deeper than before.
From ravaged field and city now
    Arose the screams and reek of war.
The black smoke parted. Through the rift
    God’s sun fell on the bloody lands.
Christ wept, for still His priceless gift
    He held within His wounded hands.


‘Hello, Soldier!’ - Contents


Back    |    Words Home    |    Edward Dyson Home    |    Site Info.    |    Feedback