Bees in Amber | Page 9

all dissensions cease!
God, send us peace!
Peace in True Liberty,
Peace in Equality,
Peace and Fraternity,
God, send us peace!
FREEMEN
Let no man stand between my God and me!
I claim a Free man's right
Of intercourse
direct with Him,
Who gave me Freedom with the air and light.
God made me free.--

Let no man stand between
Me and my liberty!
We need no priest to tell us God is Love.--
Have we not eyes to see,
And minds to
apprehend, and hearts
That leap responsive to His Charity?
God's gifts are free.--

Let no man stand between
Us and His liberty!
We need no priest to point a way to heaven.--
God's heaven is here,--is there,--
Man's
birthright, with the light and air,--
"God is His own and best interpreter."
His ways are
free.--
Let no man stand between
Us and His liberty!
Let no man strive to rob us of this right!
For this, from age to age,
Our fathers did a
mighty warfare wage,
And, by God's help, we'll keep our heritage!

God says--"Be
Free!"
And we,--
"NO MAN SHALL STAND BETWEEN
OUR SONS AND
LIBERTY!"

THE LONG ROAD
Long the road,
Till Love came down it!
Dark the life,
Till Love did crown it!
Dark the life,
And long the road,
Till Love came
To share the load!
For the touch
Of Love transfigures
All the road
And all its rigours.
Life and Death,
Love's touch transfigures.
Life and Death
And all that lies
In between,
Love sanctifies.
Once the heavenly spark is lighted,

Once in love two hearts united,
Nevermore
Shall aught that was be
As before.
THE CHRIST
The good intent of God became the Christ.
And lived on earth--the Living Love of God,

That men might draw to closer touch with heaven,
Since Christ in all the ways of
man hath trod.
THE BALLAD OF LOST SOULS
With the thirty pieces of silver,
They bought the Potter's Field;
For none would have
the blood-money
And the interest it might yield.
The Place of Blood for the Price of Blood,
And that was meet, I ween,
For there they
would bury the dead who died
In frowardness and sin.
And the first man they would bury there
Was Judas Iscariot;
And that was as dreadful
a burying
As ever was, I wot.
For the sick earth would not keep him;
Each time it thrust him out,
And they that
would have buried him
Stood shuddering round about.
And others they would bury
In that unhallowed spot,
But honest earth would none of
them,
Because of Iscariot.
And oh, it was a fell, fell place,
With dead black trees all round,
And a quag that
boiled and writhed and coiled
Where had been solid ground.

For every tree that stood there,
And the green grass every blade,
Shrivelled and died
on every side,
Whenever the price was paid.
And in despair they left him there,
And there his body lay,
Till his sad soul came, all
black with shame,
And carried it away.
And those denied a sepulture
In that most dismal spot,
Gibbered and flew, a ghastly
crew,
Incensed with rage, that grew and grew,
Against Iscariot.
For their souls were all in torment,
While their bodies uncovered lay,
And never a
moment's rest was theirs,
Either by night or day.
That was a place of wailings,
And the grisly things of Death,--
The bare black arms of
the trees above,
And the black quag underneath.
No light of the moon fell on it,
Nor ever a star did shine
On the quivering face of that
dread place,
Because of Iscariot's sin.
Then there came by the soul of Iscariot,
The same who sold his Lord,
And he dragged
his body after him,
But never spake a word.
Since earth his body would not,
He must drag it to and fro,
He had tried in vain to be
quit of it,
But it would not let him go.
So the soul of Judas Iscariot
Came by the Potter's Field,
And there the ill his deed had
wrought
Was unto him revealed.
And when the others saw him,
They leaped at him eagerly;--
"This is he for whom we
suffer!
--'Tis he! 'Tis he! 'Tis he!"
Then all afire with mad desire,
They chased him through the dark,
And each soul
carried his dead bodie,
Grim, and stiff, and stark.
They struck at him with their bodies,
They cursed him for his sin,
They made to tear
his dumb soul there,
With their fingers long and lean.
And Judas fled in his horror,
With that fell crew behind,

And as they sped the people
said
Death rode upon the wind.
They chased him near, they chased him far,
Because of his treachery,
And ever he
just escaped their lust,
And ever they were nigh.
They chased him near, they chased him far,
And ever they were nigh,
And never a
star shone out on them
Out of the cold black sky.

And as they sped by Calvary,
There were empty crosses three,--
And on the ground,
below the mound,
Lay one in agony.
"_Three times I swore I knew Him not,
And then--He looked on me.
Ah, such a
look!--no harshest word
Had ever proved so sharp a sword
To my inconstancy_.
"_Three times I did deny Thee, Lord!
And yet, thou couldst forgive,
Now am I
thine--in life, in death;
Thee will I serve with every breath,
While I have breath to
give_."
They