Poem April 10, 1965 Issue

PRELUDE

Jean Elsie Sanders

Had there not been Gethsemane
And Calvary and full surrender on the cross,
How could we then have had the proof
Of folded graveclothes and deserted tomb?
How can the power of Love roll any stone away
Except we ask for more than to escape
The swords and staves of Olivet?

There have been crosses borne up countless hills
On other Fridays, toward some Calvary,
To face the crucifixion day of self.
With full surrender to the will of God.
A silent weeping of the heart,
Reluctant still to yield that which it must,
Prolongs, perhaps, the slow ascent.
But they who climb the lonely steeps with love,
And firmly plant their cross against the sky,
Will find complete relinquishment
A sacred prelude to the resurrection light.

Jean Elsie Sanders

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