Classic Poem

Where didst Thou tarry, Lord, Lord,
Who heeded not my prayer?
All the long day, all the long night,
I stretched my hands to air.

‘There was a bitterer want than thine
Came from the frozen North;
Laid hands upon My garment's hem
And led Me forth.

‘It was a lonely Northern man:
Where there was never tree
To shed its comfort on his heart,
There he had need of Me.

‘He kindled us a little flame
To hope against the storm;
And unto him, and unto Me,
The light was warm.’

And yet I called Thee, Lord, Lord—
Who answered not, nor came:
All the long day, and yesterday,
I called Thee by Thy name.

‘There was a dumb, unhearing grief
Spake louder than thy word.
There was a heart called not on Me;
But yet I heard.

‘The sorrow of a savage man
Shaping him gods, alone,
Who found no love in the shapen clay
To answer to his own.

‘His heart knew what his eyes saw not;
He bade Me stay, and eat;
And unto him, and unto Me,
The cup was sweet.

‘Too long we wait for thee and thine,
In sodden ways and dim.
And where the man's need cries on Me,
There have I need of him.

‘Along the borders of despair
Where sparrows seek no nest,
Nor ravens food, I sit at meat,
—The unnamed Guest.’