On the Sea V

My desire for the living God hath constrained me
To seek the place of the throne of mine anointed—
Even so that it hath not suffered me to kiss
The children of my house, my friends, and my brethren;
And that I weep not for the orchard which planted
And watered, and my green shoots that prospered;
And that I remember not Jehudah and Azariel,
My two beautiful choice flowers;
And Isaac, whom I counted as my child,
Fruit of the sun, best of the growth of my moons;
And that I have all but forgotten the house of prayer
In whose place of learning was my rest,
And that I forget the delights of my Sabbaths,
The beauty of my Festivals, the glory of my
And have given my glory unto others,
And forsaken my praise unto graven images.
I have exchanged mine abode for a shadow of shrubs,
And for a hedge in the thicket my strong bars;
And my soul is sated with the chief spices,
And the scent of the thorn-bush is mine now for perfume;
And I have ceased to walk with my face bending to the ground,
But have set my paths in the heart of the seas—
To the end that I may find the footstool of my God,
And there pour out my soul with my thoughts,
And stand at the threshold of His holy mount and set open
Towards the doors of Heaven's gates, my doors,
And suffer my spikenard to flower by the waters of Jordan,
And put forth my shoots by Siloah.—
The Lord is with me. How shall I fear or dread,
Since the angel of His mercy beareth my weapons?
I shall praise His name while yet I live,
And thank Him unto all eternity.