I could not leave thee, Christ! For when I tried To leave thee for alluring ways aside From thine own way, thy power withheld me, kept My feet from wandering too far, inept And aimless, down a dwindling path that led Through mazed confusion to the house of dread. I could not leave thee, Christ! For when I yearned With passionate intensity and burned With fiery torment to assuage my thirst For freedom by a turbid stream that burst In gushing torrents from a naked hill— Thou ledst me back to waters deep and still. I could not leave thee, Christ! For when I sought To fling aside thy counsel, when I thought That in my crazy freedom I should find Some way of life for body, soul and mind Better than thou didst teach, I heard thee say, "Come back to me, for thou hast lost thy way." I would not leave thee, Christ! For I am lame From wandering, and the consuming flame Of passion has gone out and left my soul A smouldering ember, and the criss-crossed scroll Of life ends as it started with the line, "I cannot leave thee, Christ! For I am thine." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HARRIET BEECHER STOWE by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR ON CATULLUS by WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR DULCE ET DECORUM EST by WILFRED OWEN A DREAM, OR THE TYPE OF THE RISING SUN by JEAN ADAMS ANTIQUE JEWELER by FREDERICK HENRY HERBERT ADLER |