Poem July 6, 1968 Issue

SAUL ENTERS DAMASCUS

Paul Osborne Williams

Struck blind by all those falling doubts, I sing
Words without sound set in a song
Of inward harmony—Damascus comes,
Into the narrow streets of which I grope,
Feeling the stones; a chosen vessel now
Awaiting that renewal of the light

I know will come, though not yet how;
And when it comes, I, straighter than before,
Will take a new direction, see again,
This time look up, no longer holding good
The violent act, the self steeped in its woes,
Its rituals, reliances, its cheats.

Lift, dear God, what still remains of dark,
Until thought turns transparent in the light.
Support me there, where, moving in God's day,
I offer brilliance too, intelligence
Reflected, showing men Christ's way.
This is my birthday; now I touch the truth

All men must reach—and I, to help them find
It, dedicate my life, my prayer, my mind.

Paul Osborne Williams

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