Poetry of the Cross: Jesus of the Scars
Monday, March 17, 2008 at 9:43AM If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;
Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;
We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow;
We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;
In all the universe we have no place.
Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?
Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars we claim Thy grace.If when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;
We know today what wounds are; have no fear;
Show us Thy Scars; we know the countersign.The other gods were strong, but Thou wast weak;
They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.—-Rev. Edward Shillito
Congregationalist minister Edward Shillito wrote this poem from the viewpoint of the maimed and suffering British soldiers returning from WWI.
More Poetry of the Cross
- Brandon at Siris: One of my favorite cross poems from one of my favorite poets.
Reader Comments (5)
Oh, my. Beneath the Cross is a Rossetti poem I have not read before today. It's very good.
It's one that's sometimes overlooked, I think. Some of her other religious poetry requires less biblical literacy than that one in order to understand, and that might be why Beneath the Cross is less popular.
Hi Rebecca. I actually broke out of my nonblogging to post a poem I wrote a few years ago. LOVE the poem you posted from Edward Shillito. Here is my URL. http://candyinsierra.blogspot.com/
SPeaking of Rossetti, I like Goblin Market, though it is not overtly about the cross it sure speaks of one individual resisting temptation and sacrificing themself to save another out of love.
I love Goblin Market, too!