A Vision of St. Eligius
I.
I see thy house, but I am blown about,
A wind-mocked kite, between the earth and sky,
All out of doors-alas! of thy doors out,
And drenched in dews no summer suns can dry.
For every blast is passion of my own;
The dews cold sweats of selfish agony;
Dank vapour steams from memories lying prone;
And all my soul is but a stifled cry.
II.
Lord, thou dost hold my string, else were I driven
Down to some gulf where I were tossed no more,
No turmoil telling I was not in heaven,
No billows raving on a blessed shore.
Thou standest on thy door-sill, calm as day,
And all my throbs and pangs are pulls from thee;
Hold fast the string, lest I should break away
And outer dark and silence swallow me.
III.
No longer fly thy kite, Lord; draw me home.
Thou pull’st the string through all the distance bleak;
Lord, I am nearing thee; O Lord, I come;
Thy pulls grow stronger and the wind grows weak.
In thy remodelling hands thou tak’st thy kite;
A moment to thy bosom hold’st me fast.
Thou flingest me abroad:-lo, in thy might
A strong-winged bird I soar on every blast!
