Classic Poem

When will he come

When will he come?
The ancient Hindu races say
That, when the nation falls away,
Help will shine out like a star;
That when some giant, demon, devil,
The people overwhelms in evil,
Then comes Vishnu's Avatar.
Nine times already has he come to earth.
Ten times, — and then the perfect world has birth.

When will he come?
A captive nation dwells upon
The river-banks of Babylon.
What is the word they speak?
The prophet's eye looks down the years,
And kindles as the sight appears, —
" Messiah! him ye seek.
Lo, the Lord's anointed comes! and then
Shall dwell the heavenly kingdom among men. "

When will he come?
The Christian answers: " Long ago
The king was born in manger low.
Him wicked men have slain.
And now we wait with longing eye,
And fix our look upon the sky;
For he will come again.
We pray and watch since he has gone away;
For, when he comes, he'll bring the perfect day.

When will he come?
This is the old world's weary cry.
Is man forgotten in the sky?
How long, O Lord, how long!
Hunger, disease, and tears and pain
We plead against, and plead in vain, —
The weak against the strong.
The fathers wait and hope, then fall asleep;
And still its death-strewn way the world doth keep.

When will he come?
Say not that he will never come;
Say not the piteous heavens are dumb.
Deaf have ye been and blind.
He will not come through opening sky;
Ye shall not hear a victor's cry,
Nor chariot on the wind.
From mythic dreams and idle visions wake!
Your fancies falsify the word God spake.

When will he come?
" Lo, here! Lo, there! " the foolish shout,
And think that God will come without .
But ever has it been,
In spite of fabled tales that tell
Of magic and of miracle,
That he has come within .
Only through man, and man alone,
Does God build up his righteous throne.

When will he come?
In times and places manifold,
He has been coming from of old, —
God in the leading men.
When man broke loose from bestial bands
First stood upright and used his hands,
The heavenly light broke then.
When fire was kindled first upon the earth,
Then God in man knew still a higher birth.

When will he come?
When iron first was hammered out;
When far shores heard the seaman's shout;
When letters first were known;
When separate tribes to nations grew;
When men their brotherhood first knew;
When law first reached the throne:
Each separate upward step that man has trod
Has been a coming of the living God.

When will he come?
While you are looking far away,
His tireless feet are nigh to-day.
Each true word is his voice.
All honest work, all noble trust,
Each deed that lifts man from the dust,
Each pure and manly choice,
Each upward stair man's toil-worn feet do climb,
Is just another birth of God sublime.

When will he come?
He'll come to-morrow, if you will;
But cease your idle sitting still.
Yes, he will come to-day.
He will not come in clouds, but through
Your doing all that you can do
To help the right alway.
Do honest work, and to the truth be true,
And God already has appeared in you.English