Long had the Saracen with ruthless arms, Denied all access to this place of awe; Next came the Christian Church, with holy psalms Charming the gloom of hollow Machpelah: Anon, the votaries of Mohammed's name, Returning, trod the desecrated floors, And, in the gusts through those re-opening doors, The dreary Moslem voices went and came In Jacob's ears! But now a step draws nigh, A sound to reassure the patriarch's heart With promise of the coming time, and start The cerements from the hollow of his thigh, As tho' the angel call'd: for lo! they meet - The 'Ladder' and the 'Cross', with promise sweet! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AN ANCIENT PROVERB by WILLIAM BLAKE A SHROPSHIRE LAD: 35 by ALFRED EDWARD HOUSMAN THE CHALLENGE by ALEXANDER POPE TIMES GO BY TURNS by ROBERT SOUTHWELL RAIN by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON |