April 1
Companions of the Way (Evening)IN sorrow and in nakedness of soul I ook into the street,
If haply there mine eye may meet,
As up and down it ranges,
The servants of my Father bearing changes
Of raiment sweet...
Seven changes sweet with violet and moly,
Seven changes pure and holy.
But nowhere 'mid that thick entangled throng
Mark I their proud sad paces;
Nowhere the light upon their faces,
Serene with that great beauty
Wherein the single meditated duty
Its empire traces :—
Only the fretful merchants stand and cry,
"Come buy! come buy! come buy!"
O naked soul, be patient in this stead!
Thrice blest are they that wait.
O Father of my soul, the gate
Will open soon, and they
Who minister to Thee and Thine alway
Will enter straight,
And speak to me, that I shall understand
The speech of Thy great land.
And I will rise, and wash, and they will dress me
As Thou wouldst have me drest;
And I shall stand confest
Thy son; and men shall falter :—
"Behold the ephod of the unseen altar!
O, God-possessed!
Thy raiment is not from the looms of earth,
But has a heavenly birth."
T. E. BROWN, Collected Poems, 1900
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