Friday, November 20, 2020

Our King is calling (Malcolm Guite)

 

               Our King is calling from the hungry furrows

               Whilst we are cruising through the aisles of plenty,

               Our hoardings screen us from the man of sorrows,

               Our soundtracks drown his murmur:  I am thirsty.

               He stands in line to sign in as a stranger

               And seek a welcome from the world he made,

               We see him only as a threat, a danger,

               He asks for clothes, we strip-search him instead.

               And if he should fall sick then we take care

               That he does not infect our private health,

               We lock him in the prisons of our fear

               Lest he unlock the prison of our wealth.

               But still on Sunday we shall stand and sing

               The praises of our hidden Lord and King.

 

-- Malcolm Guite,

The Feast of Christ the King, a sonnet

 

Image source: Dirk van Baburen, Christ with the Crown of Thorns (1623), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus,_King_of_the_Jews#/media/File:Dirk_van_Baburen_-_Kroning_met_de_doornenkroon.jpg

Poem source

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