The Poetical Works of George MacDonald (Parables)
Home - George MacDonald - The Poetical Works of George MacDonald (Parables)MOTES IN THE SUN.
ANGELS.
Came of old to houses lonely
Men with wings, but did not show them: Angels come to our house, only,
For their wings, they do not know them!
THE FATHER'S WORSHIPPERS.
'Tis we, not in thine arms, who weep and pray; The children in thy bosom laugh and play.
A BIRTHDAY-WISH.
Who know thee, love: thy life be such
That, ere the year be o'er, Each one who loves thee now so much,
Even God, may love thee more!
TO ANY ONE.
Go not forth to call Dame Sorrow From the dim fields of Tomorrow; Let her roam there all unheeded, She will come when she is needed; Then, when she draws near thy door, She will find God there before.
WAITING.
Lie, little cow, and chew thy cud,
The farmer soon will shift thy tether; Chirp, linnet, on the frozen mud,
Sun and song will come together; Wait, soul, for God, and thou shalt bud,
He waits thy waiting with his weather.
LOST BUT SAFE.
Lost the little one roams about, Pathway or shelter none can find; Blinking stars are coming out; No one is moving but the wind; It is no use to cry or shout, All the world is still as a mouse; One thing only eases her mind: "Father knows I'm not in the house!"
MUCH AND MORE.
When thy heart, love-filled, grows graver,
And eternal bliss looks nearer, Ask thy heart, nor show it favour,
Is the gift or giver dearer?
Love, love on; love higher, deeper;
Let love's ocean close above her; Only, love thou more love's keeper,
More, the love-creating lover.
HOPE AND PATIENCE.
An unborn bird lies crumpled and curled, A-dreaming of the world.
Round it, for castle-wall, a shell Is guarding it well.
Hope is the bird with its dim sensations; The shell that keeps it alive is Patience.
A BETTER THING.
I took it for a bird of prey that soared High over ocean, battled mount, and plain; 'Twas but a bird-moth, which with limp horns gored The invisibly obstructing window-pane!
Better than eagle, with far-towering nerve But downward bent, greedy, marauding eye, Guest of the flowers, thou art: unhurt they serve Thee, little angel of a lower sky!
A PRISONER.
The hinges are so rusty
The door is fixed and fast;
The windows are so dusty
The sun looks in aghast:
Knock out the glass, I pray,
Or dash the door away,
Or break the house down bodily,
And let my soul go free!
TO MY LORD AND MASTER.
Imagination cannot rise above thee; Near and afar I see thee, and I love thee; My misery away from me I thrust it, For thy perfection I behold, and trust it.
TO ONE UNSATISFIED.
When, with all the loved around thee,
Still thy heart says, "I am lonely," It is well; the truth hath found thee:
Rest is with the Father only.
TO MY GOD.
Oh how oft I wake and find
I have been forgetting thee! I am never from thy mind:
Thou it is that wakest me.
TRIOLET.
Oh that men would praise the Lord
For his goodness unto men! Forth he sends his saving word,
--Oh that men would praise the Lord!-- And from shades of death abhorred
Lifts them up to light again: Oh that men would praise the Lord
For his goodness unto men!
THE WORD OF GOD.
Where the bud has never blown
Who for scent is debtor? Where the spirit rests unknown
Fatal is the letter.
In thee, Jesus, Godhead-stored,
All things we inherit, For thou art the very Word
And the very Spirit!
EINE KLEINE PREDIGT.
Graut Euch nicht, Ihr lieben Leute,
Vor dem ungeheuren Morgen; Wenn es kommt, es ist das Heute,
Und der liebe Gott zu sorgen.
TO THE LIFE ETERNAL.
Thou art my thought, my heart, my being's fortune,
The search for thee my growth's first conscious date; For nought, for everything, I thee importune;
Thou art my all, my origin and fate!
HOPE DEFERRED.
"Where is thy crown, O tree of Love?
Flowers only bears thy root! Will never rain drop from above
Divine enough for fruit?"
"I dwell in hope that gives good cheer,
Twilight my darkest hour; For seest thou not that every year
I break in better flower?"
FORGIVENESS.
God gives his child upon his slate a sum--
To find eternity in hours and years; With both sides covered, back the child doth come,
His dim eyes swollen with shed and unshed tears; God smiles, wipes clean the upper side and nether, And says, "Now, dear, we'll do the sum together!"
DEJECTION.
O Father, I am in the dark,
My soul is heavy-bowed: I send my prayer up like a lark,
Up through my vapoury shroud, To find thee,
And remind thee
I am thy child, and thou my father, Though round me death itself should gather.
Lay thy loved hand upon my head,
Let thy heart beat in mine; One thought from thee, when all seems dead,
Will make the darkness shine About me
And throughout me!
And should again the dull night gather, I'll cry again, Thou art my father.
APPEAL.
If in my arms I bore my child,
Would he cry out for fear Because the night was dark and wild
And no one else was near?
Shall I then treat thee, Father, as
My fatherhood would grieve? I will be hopeful, though, alas,
I cannot quite believe!
I had no power, no wish to be:
Thou madest me half blind! The darkness comes! I cling to thee!
Be thou my perfect mind.