Page:The poems of Richard Watson Gilder, Gilder, 1908.djvu/205

Rh Which holds the secret of bliss;

And the darker secret of sorrow

That shall come to each, to-morrow;

Sweet friend, I send you this.

THE PASSING OF CHRIST

I

of light and lore!

Do you mean that in our day

The Christ hath past away;

That nothing now is divine

In the fierce rays that shine

Through every cranny and thought;

That Christ as he once was taught

Shall be the Christ no more?

That the Hope and Savior of men

Shall be seen no more again;

That, miracles being done,

Gone is the Holy One?

And thus, you hold, this Christ

For the past alone sufficed;

From the throne of the hearts of the world

The Son of God shall be hurled,

And henceforth must be sought

New prophets and kings of thought;

That the tenderest, truest word

The heart of sorrow hath heard

Shall sound no more upon earth;

That he who hath made of birth

A dread and sacred rite;

Who hath brought to the eyes of death

A vision of heavenly light,

Shall fade with our failing faith;—