Religion

What are these lovely ones, yea, what are these?

by Christina Rossetti 1830–1894

From Verses (1893)

Religion

What are these lovely ones, yea, what are these?
Lo, these are they who for pure love of Christ
Stripped off the trammels of soft silken ease,
Beggaring themselves betimes, to be sufficed
Throughout heaven’s one eternal day of peace:
By golden streets, thro’ gates of pearl unpriced,
They entered on the joys that will not cease,
And found again all firstfruits sacrificed.
And wherefore have you harps, and wherefore palms,
And wherefore crowns, O ye who walk in white?
Because our happy hearts are chanting psalms,
Endless Te Deum for the ended fight;
While thro’ the everlasting lapse of calms
We cast our crowns before the Lamb our Might.

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Verses (1893), section: New Jerusalem and Its Citizens.

MLA

Rossetti, Christina. “What are these lovely ones, yea, what are these?” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/rossetti_c/808/.

Chicago

Rossetti, Christina. “What are these lovely ones, yea, what are these?” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/rossetti_c/808/.

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