Old Stuff

The Poor of London

Here's a poem from Hilaire Belloc, imploring God's judgment on our indifference. What does it mean when one's favorite poet in English is Belloc? The poetry Steven Riddle is posting over at Flos Carmeli seems opaque to me, while Belloc makes my heart sing. Then again, poetry has never been high on my list of reading.

Anyway, this is best read aloud :-)

From Verses and Sonnets, 1896.

The Poor of London

Almighty God, whose justice like the sun
Shall coruscate along the floors of Heaven,
Raising what's low, perfecting what's undone,
Breaking the proud and making odd things even,
The poor of Jesus Christ along the street
In your rain sodden, in your snows unshod,
They have nor hearth, nor sword, nor human meat,
Nor even the bread of men: Almighty God.

The poor of Jesus Christ whom no man hears
Have waited on your vengeance much too long.
Wipe out not tears but blood: our eyes bleed tears.
Come smite our damnéd sophistries so strong
That thy rude hammer battering this rude wrong
Ring down the abyss of twice ten thousand years.