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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


REAL PRESENCE by IVAN ADAIR

First Line: NOT ON AN ALTAR SHALL MINE EYES BEHOLD THEE
Last Line: MY GOD ... MY BROTHER-MAN.
Subject(s): RELIGION; THEOLOGY;

Not on an altar shall mine eyes behold Thee;
Though Thou art sacrifice, Thou too art Priest;
Bend, that the feeble arms of Love enfold Thee,
So Faith shall bloom, increased.

Not on a Cross, with passion buds around Thee,
Thorn-crowned and lonely, in Thy suffering;
Nay, but as watching Mary met and found Thee,
Dawn-robed, the Risen King.

Not in the past, but in the present glorious,
Not in the future, that I cannot span,
Living and breathing, over death victorious,
My God ... my Brother-Man.



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