“O EARTH, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!”
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” Rev. 3:20. I saw, when the twilight of morning was o’er,
A Stranger stood still at a half-open door.
A child played within, but the song of a bird
Filled the place with its notes, and the knock was unheard.
“O earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the Lord!” I looked soon again—to my heart it seemed soon,
But hours had swept on, and the sun stood at noon;—
The Stranger still there—still unheeded his cry—
And I saw through the lattice gay dancers flit by.
“O earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the Lord!” Gray shadows had crept from the wood to the plain,
The wind had grown chill when I passed there again;
Still patiently waited that form as before,
And his knock sounded loud on the now bolted door.
“O earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the Lord!” I watched until even—stood listening there
Till midnight rang out on the storm-driven air;
Then knew by the footfall the Lord had passed on,
That the harvest was past, and the summer was gone.
“O earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the Lord!” —The (London) Christian.