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Time Of Sorrow

Marie Corelli

We live in a time of sorrow,
A time of doubt and storm,
When the thunder-clouds hang heavy,
And the air is thick and warm;

When the far-off lightnings gather
On the verge of the darkening sky,
And the birds of the air, fear-stricken,
To nest and cover fly:

Look up! ye drowsy people,
There's desolation nigh!

* * * * *

Look up! ye drowsy people,
And shield yourselves in time,
From the wrath and retribution
That track the heels of crime;

That lie in wait for the folly
Of the lordly and the strong;
That spare not nigh nor lowly
From vengeance threatened long,

But strike at the heart of nations,
And kings who govern wrong.

* * * * *

Kneel down in the dust and sackcloth,
And own, with contrite tears,
Your arrogant self-worship,
And wrongs of many years;

Your luxuries hard-hearted;
Your pride so barren-cold,
Remote from the warmth of pity
For men of the self-same mould,

As good as yourselves, or better,
In all but the shining gold.

* * * * *

Kneel down, ye priests and preachers,
Ye men of lawn and stole,
Who call yourselves physicians
And guardians of the soul,

And own if ye have not hated
Your brethren, night and day,
Because of God's high altars
They bent another way,

And sought not your assistance
To worship and to pray!

* * * * *

Awake! awake! ye sleepers,
There's danger over all,
When the strong shall be sorely shaken,
And the weak shall go to the wall;

When towers on the hill-top standing
Shall topple at a word,
And the principles of ages
Shall be question'd with the sword,

And the heart's blood of the nations
Like fountains shall he pour'd!

* * * * *

When a fierce and a searching Spirit
Shall stalk o'er the startled earth,
And make great Thrones the playthings
Of his madness or his mirth;

When ancient creeds and systems,
In the fury of his breath,
Shall whirl like the leaves of autumn,
When the north wind belloweth,

And drift away unheeded,
To the deep, deep seas of death!

The Passing of the Great Queen

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