The Under-Dogs

Related poetry:

1. Hymn 14 The triumph of faith or, Christ’s unchangeable love. Rom. 8:33ff. Who shall the Lord’s elect condemn? ‘Tis God that justifies their souls; And mercy, like a mighty stream, O’er all their sins divinely rolls. Who shall adjudge the saints to hell? ‘Tis Christ that suffered in their stead; And, the salvation to fulfil, Behold him […]...
2. The Lesson I keep on dying again. Veins collapse, opening like the Small fists of sleeping Children. Memory of old tombs, Rotting flesh and worms do Not convince me against The challenge. The years And cold defeat live deep in Lines along my face. They dull my eyes, yet I keep on dying, Because I love to […]...
3. The Scribe's Prayer When from my fumbling hand the tired pen falls, And in the twilight weary droops my head; While to my quiet heart a still voice calls, Calls me to join my kindred of the Dead: Grant that I may, O Lord, ere rest be mine, Write to Thy praise one radiant, ringing line. For all […]...
4. Divine Device Would it be loss or gain To hapless human-kind If we could feel no pain Of body or of mind? Would it be for our good If we were calloused so, And God in mercy should End all our woe? I wonder and I doubt: It is my bright belief We should be poor without […]...
5. Still Heart When I give up the helm I know that the time has come for thee to take it. What there is to do will be instantly done. Vain is this struggle. Then take away your hands And silently put up with your defeat, my heart, And think it your good fortune to sit perfectly still […]...
6. Psalm 109 v.1-5,31 C. M. Love to enemies from the example of Christ. God of my mercy and my praise, Thy glory is my song, Though sinners speak against thy grace With a blaspheming tongue. When in the form of mortal man Thy Son on earth was found, With cruel slanders, false and vain, They compassed him […]...
7. 87. The Twa Dogs ‘TWAS 1 in that place o’ Scotland’s isle, That bears the name o’ auld King Coil, Upon a bonie day in June, When wearin’ thro’ the afternoon, Twa dogs, that were na thrang at hame, Forgather’d ance upon a time. The first I’ll name, they ca’d him Caesar, Was keepit for His Honor’s pleasure: His […]...
8. Psalm 119 part 12 Breathing after comfort and deliverance. Ver. 153 My God, consider my distress, Let mercy plead my cause; Though I have sinned against thy grace, I can’t forget thy laws. Ver. 39,116 Forbid, forbid the sharp reproach Which I so justly fear; Uphold my life, uphold my hopes, Not let my shame appear. Ver. 122,135 Be […]...
9. Psalm 73 part 2 v.23-28 C. M. God our portion here and hereafter. God, my supporter and my hope, My help for ever near, Thine arm of mercy held me up, When sinking in despair. Thy counsels, Lord, shall guide my feet Through this dark wilderness; Thine hand conduct me near thy seat, To dwell before thy face. Were […]...
10. The Outlaw A wild and woeful race he ran Of lust and sin by land and sea; Until, abhorred of God and man, They swung him from the gallows-tree. And then he climbed the Starry Stair, And dumb and naked and alone, With head unbowed and brazen glare, He stood before the Judgment Throne. The Keeper of […]...
11. Failure He wrote a play; by day and night He strove with passion and delight; Yet knew, long ere the curtain drop, His drama was a sorry flop. In Parliament he sought a seat; Election Day brought dire defeat; Yet he had wooed with word and pen Prodigiously his fellow men. And then he wrote a […]...
12. Sisters Of Mercy Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone. They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can’t go On. And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me This song. Oh I hope you run into them, you who’ve been travelling so Long. Yes you who must […]...
13. Psalm 99 part 2 A holy God worshiped with reverence. Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at his feet; His nature is all holiness, And mercy is his seat. When Isr’el was his church, When Aaron was his priest, When Moses cried, when Samuel prayed, He gave his people rest. Oft he forgave their sins, Nor would destroy […]...
14. The Lady's Second Song What sort of man is coming To lie between your feet? What matter, we are but women. Wash; make your body sweet; I have cupboards of dried fragrance. I can strew the sheet. The Lord have mercy upon us. He shall love my soul as though Body were not at all, He shall love your […]...
15. Song Who hath his fancy pleased With fruits of happy sight, Let here his eyes be raised On Nature’s sweetest light; A light which doth dissever And yet unite the eyes, A light which, dying never, Is cause the looker dies. She never dies, but lasteth In life of lover’s heart; He ever dies that wasteth […]...
16. At Feet Of Dogs At my feet the lapdogs of desire, I wont greet their fawning, least not yet, Their foul breath would shrink a haemorroid, Perhaps I’ll feed them oats with garlic Instead. I fed their need for family, I recognised each one and said I loved them. Unconditionally. Was I wrong? I cannot say they loved me […]...
17. Two Dogs HaveI For years we’ve had a little dog, Last year we acquired a big dog; He wasn’t big when we got him, He was littler than the dog we had. We thought our little dog would love him, Would help him to become a trig dog, But the new little dog got bigger, And the old […]...
18. Hymn 112 The brazen serpent; or, Looking to Jesus. John 3:14-16. So did the Hebrew prophet raise The brazen serpent high, The wounded felt immediate ease, The camp forbore to die. “Look upward in the dying hour, And live,” the prophet cries; But Christ performs a nobler cure, When Faith lifts up her eyes. High on the […]...
19. The Angel Food Dogs Leaping, leaping, leaping, Down line by line, Growling at the cadavers, Filling the holy jugs with their piss, Falling into windows and mauling the parents, But soft, kiss-soft, And sobbing sobbing Into their awful dog dish. No point? No twist for you In my white tunnel? Let me speak plainly, Let me whisper it from […]...
20. Spanish Peasant We have no aspiration vain For paradise Utopian, And here in our sun-happy Spain, Though man exploit his fellow man, To high constraint we humbly yield, And turn from politics to toil, Content to till a kindly field And bring forth bounty from the soil. They tell us wars will never cease; They sy the […]...
21. Psalm 100 A plain translation. Praise to our Creator. Ye nations round the earth, rejoice Before the Lord, your sovereign King; Serve him with cheerful heart and voice, With all your tongues his glory sing. The Lord is God; ’tis he alone Doth life, and breath, and being give; We are his work, and not our own, […]...
22. Hurt Hawks I The broken pillar of the wing jags from the clotted shoulder, The wing trails like a banner in defeat, No more to use the sky forever but live with famine And pain a few days: cat nor coyote Will shorten the week of waiting for death, there is game without talons. He stands under […]...
23. Psalm 86 Thy gracious ear, O Lord, encline, O hear me I thee pray, For I am poor, and almost pine With need, and sad decay. Preserve my soul, for *I have trod Heb. I am good, loving, Thy waies, and love the just, a doer of good and Save thou thy servant O my God holy […]...
24. Psalm 34 part 1 God’s care of the saints; or, Deliverance by prayer. Lord, I will bless thee all my days, Thy praise shall dwell upon my tongue My soul shall glory in thy grace, While saints rejoice to hear the song. Come, magnify the Lord with me, Come, let us all exalt his name; I sought th’ eternal […]...
25. 'Tis so much joy! 'Tis so much joy! ‘Tis so much joy! ‘Tis so much joy! If I should fail, what poverty! And yet, as poor as I, Have ventured all upon a throw! Have gained! Yes! Hesitated so This side the Victory! Life is but Life! And Death, but Death! Bliss is, but Bliss, and Breath but Breath! And if indeed I […]...
26. Hymn 26 Hope of heaven by the resurrection of Christ. 1 Pet. 1:3-5. Blest be the everlasting God, The Father of our Lord; Be his abounding mercy praised, His majesty adored. When from the dead he raised his Son, And called him to the sky, He gave our souls a lively hope That they should never die. […]...
27. Hymn 129 Submission and deliverance; or, Abraham offering up his son. Gen. 22:6, etc. Saints, at your heav’nly Father’s word Give up your comforts to the Lord; He shall restore what you resign, Or grant you blessings more divine. So Abram with obedient hand Led forth his son at God’s command; The wood, the fire, the knife, […]...
28. Psalm 89 The covenant made with Christ; or, The true David. For ever shall my song record The truth and mercy of the Lord; Mercy and truth for ever stand, Like heav’n, established by his hand. Thus to his Son he sware, and said, “With thee my cov’nant first is made; In thee shall dying sinners live, […]...
29. HIS SAILING FROM JULIA When that day comes, whose evening says I’m gone Unto that watery desolation; Devoutly to thy Closet-gods then pray, That my wing’d ship may meet no Remora. Those deities which circum-walk the seas, And look upon our dreadful passages, Will from all dangers re-deliver me, For one drink-offering poured out by thee, Mercy and Truth […]...
30. Hymn 93 Christ, or Wisdom, obeyed or resisted. Prov. 8:34-36. Thus saith the Wisdom of the Lord, “Blest is the man that hears my word, Keeps daily watch before my gates, And at my feet for mercy waits. “The soul that seeks me shall obtain Immortal wealth and heav’nly gain; Immortal life is his reward; Life, and […]...
31. Psalm 85 part 1 v.1-8 L. M. Waiting for an answer to prayer; or, Deliverance begun and completed. Lord, thou hast called thy grace to mind, Thou hast reversed our heavy doom; So God forgave when Isr’el sinned, And brought his wand’ring captives home. Thou hast begun to set us free, And made thy fiercest wrath abate; Now let […]...
32. Hymn 85 Salvation, righteousness, and strength in Christ. Isa. 45:21-25. The Lord on high proclaims His Godhead from his throne: “Mercy and justice are the names By which I will be known. “Ye dying souls that sit In darkness and distress, Look from the borders of the pit To my recov’ring grace.” Sinners shall hear the sound; […]...
33. The Waiting Soul Breathe from the gentle south, O Lord, And cheer me from the north; Blow on the treasures of thy word, And call the spices forth! I wish, Thou knowest, to be resign’d, And wait with patient hope; But hope delay’d fatigues the mind, And drinks the spirits up. Help me to reach the distant goal; […]...
34. The Passing Of The Year My glass is filled, my pipe is lit, My den is all a cosy glow; And snug before the fire I sit, And wait to feel the old year go. I dedicate to solemn thought Amid my too-unthinking days, This sober moment, sadly fraught With much of blame, with little praise. Old Year! upon the […]...
35. Striving Striving is life, yet life is striving; I fight to live, yet live to fight; The vital urge is in my driving, Yet I must drive with all my might: Each day a battle, and the fray Stoutly renewed the coming day. A am myself – yet when I strive I build a self that’s […]...
36. The Man to the Angel I HAVE wept a million tears: Pure and proud one, where are thine, What the gain though all thy years In unbroken beauty shine? All your beauty cannot win Truth we learn in pain and sighs: You can never enter in To the circle of the wise. They are but the slaves of light Who […]...
37. Hymn 111 Salvation by grace. Titus 3:3-7. [Lord, we confess our num’rous faults, How great our guilt has been! Foolish and vain were all our thoughts, And all our lives were sin. But, O my soul! for ever praise, For ever love his name, Who turns thy feet from dangerous ways Of folly, sin, and shame.] [‘Tis […]...
38. Psalm 145 part 3 v.14,17ff C. M. Mercy to sufferers; or, God hearing prayer. Let every tongue thy goodness speak, Thou sovereign Lord of all; Thy strength’ning hands uphold the weak, And raise the poor that fall. When sorrow bows the spirit down, Or virtue lies distressed Beneath some proud oppressor’s frown, Thou giv’st the mourners rest. The Lord […]...
39. Had I presumed to hope Had I presumed to hope The loss had been to Me A Value for the Greatness’ Sake As Giants gone away Had I presumed to gain A Favor so remote The failure but confirm the Grace In further Infinite ‘Tis failure not of Hope But Confident Despair Advancing on Celestial Lists With faint Terrestial power […]...
40. Keepe On Your Maske (Version for his Mistress) Keepe on your maske and hide your eye For in beholding you I dye. Your fatall beauty Gorgon-like Dead with astonishment doth strike. Your piercing eyes that now I see Are worse than Basilisks to me. Shut from mine eyes those hills of snow, Their melting vally do not shew: Those azure paths lead to […]...