Friday, March 26, 2010

Two of my mother’s favorites.


In the previous post, I shared with you a well-known poem by A. E. Housman, and afterward I got to thinking about poems my mother liked. (No, I don't know why, but thank you for asking.)

Here are two. She introduced me to the first one when I was very young, and I found the second one folded up in her purse after she died.


Abou Ben Adhem
by Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)


Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold: —
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the Presence in the room he said
“What writest thou?” — The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered “The names of those who love the Lord.”
“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,”
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said “I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.”
The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.



Go To Father
(Anonymous)


“Go to father,” she said
When he asked her to wed.
Now she knew that he knew
That her father was dead,
And she knew that he knew
What a life he had led,
So she knew that he knew
What she meant when she said,
“Go to father.”

5 comments:

  1. One of my favorite "Spring" poems. it speaks to my melancholy Yankee soul...Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
    Nature's first green is gold,
    Her hardest hue to hold.

    Her early leaf's a flower;
    But only so an hour.

    Then leaf subsides to leaf.
    So Eden sank to grief,

    So dawn goes down to day.
    Nothing gold can stay.

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  2. Hi Mr. Brague,
    These poems make you think. Thank you for the St. John Chapter 15 suggestion. "Those who hate you hated me first." You reminded me.

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  3. Oh, and LOVE that Frost poem, Nedine!

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  4. so that scripture verse to loren, does that mean don't start to hate anyone or start with the devil?????????????????????

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  5. Nedine, I have loved this poem by Robert Frost ever since the first time I read it.

    Loren, thanks for stopping by my blog again. Now I have to answer Putz's question (below).

    Putz, this discussion really ought to be on Loren's blog. She was wondering why a particular TV program, supposedly a popular comedy, attacks Christianity so viciously. I pointed her to John 15, where Christ is not instructing Christians how to act, He is exlaining to Christians why they will be persecuted. But please, please, please don't talk about the contents of someone's blog on someone else's blog! It confuses the other readers!

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<b>Always true to you, darlin’, in my fashion</b>

We are bombarded daily by abbreviations in everyday life, abbreviations that are never explained, only assumed to be understood by everyone...