"I DO beseech thee, God, show me thy face." "Come up to me in Sinai on the morn! Thou shalt behold as much as may be borne." And on a rock stood Moses, lone in space. From Sinai's top, the vaporous, thunderous place, God passed in cloud, an earthy garment worn To hide, and thus reveal. In love, not scorn, He put him in a clift of the rock's base, Covered him with his hand, his eyes to screen— Passed—lifted it: his back alone appears! Ah, Moses, had he turned, and hadst thou seen The pale face crowned with thorns, baptized with tears, The eyes of the true man, by men belied, Thou hadst beheld God's face, and straightway died! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOMESDAY BOOK: LILLI ALM by EDGAR LEE MASTERS CURIOSITY by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR THE ERL-KING by JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE AN ODE IN TIME OF HESITATION by WILLIAM VAUGHN MOODY A WISH by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI THERMOPYLAE by SIMONIDES OF CEOS AUTUMN MESSAGES by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) A DAY-DREAM by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT FATHER O'SHEA WAS HIS REGIMENT'S PRIDE by AMELIA JOSEPHINE BURR |