IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD Anna Hempstead Branch (1875–1937) It took me ten days To read the Bible through. Then I saw what I saw, And I knew what I knew. I would rise before the dawn, when the stars were in the sky; I would go and read the Book, Till the sun rode high. In the silence of the noon, I would read with a will. I was one who had climbed To an high, burning hill. At dusk I fell asleep With my head on the page. Then I woke—then I read— till it seemed like an age. For a great wind blows Through Ezekiel and John, They are all one flesh That the Spirit blows upon. And suddenly the words Seemed to quicken and to shine; They glowed like the bread, They purpled like the wine. Like bread that had been wheat In a thousand ample plains, Sown and harvested by men From the suns—from the rains. Like wine that had been grapes In a thousand vineyards strong— That was trampled by men’s feet With a shout, with a song. Like the Bread, like the Wine, That we eat with one accord— The body and the blood Of the supper of the Lord. And the wine may be old And the wine may be new— But it all is the Lord’s— And I knew what I knew. For a great wind blows Through Ezekiel and John, They are all one flesh That the Spirit blows upon. And a letter is a power; And a name is a rune— And an alphabet, my friends, Is a strange and ancient tune. And each letter is a throne From which fearful splendors stream— I could see them flash like fire with an arch-angelic gleam. And within each word a city Shone more far than eye could reach— Where the people shone like stars with a great new speech. And each city was an angel, And they sang with one accord— Crying, “Holy, holy, holy,’ In the presence of the Lord. The Book felt like flesh, It would breathe—it would sing— It would throb beneath my hand Like a breast, like a wing. It would cry, it would groan, It would shout and complain— It would seem to climb a hill With its solemn stress of pain. It would grapple with fierce powers, With a deep interior strife. It would seem to heave and lift With a terrible, glad life. And my flesh was in the Book, And its blood was in me; I could feel it throb within As plain as it could be. I was filled with its powers, And I cried all alone, “The Lord is in the tomb, And my body is the stone.” I was anguished, I was dumb, When the powers began to move, That shall stir the aching ground, That shall shake the earth with love. Then my flesh, which was the stone, Felt the hills began to lift, The seas shook and heaved, And the stars began to shift. And the words rushed on And each letter was a throne. They swept through my flesh, Through my brain, through my bone, With a great, fearful rush, I felt it clean through. Oh, I saw what I saw, And I knew what I knew. And I swung to one side When the ghostly power began. Then the Book stood up— And I saw it was a Man. For a great wind blows Through Ezekiel and John, They are all one flesh That the Spirit blows upon. It took me ten days To read the Bible through— Then I saw what I saw, And I knew what I knew.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 02:07:11 +0000
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