The Cross

John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)



'The cross, if rightly borne, shall be
No burden, but support to thee;'
So, moved of old time for our sake,
The holy monk of Kempen spake.

Thou brave and true one! upon whom
Was laid the cross of martyrdom,
How didst thou, in thy generous youth,
Bear witness to this blessed truth!

Thy cross of suffering and of shame
A staff within thy hands became,
In paths where faith alone could see
The Master's steps supporting thee.

Thine was the seed-time; God alone
Beholds the end of what is sown;
Beyond our vision, weak and dim,
The harvest-time is hid with Him.

Yet, unforgotten where it lies,
That seed of generous sacrifice,
Though seeming on the desert cast,
Shall rise with bloom and fruit at last.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 30, 2023

39 sec read
89

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABB XXCC DDAA EEFF XXGG
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 688
Words 130
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. more…

All John Greenleaf Whittier poems | John Greenleaf Whittier Books

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