St. Laurence

Joyce Kilmer 1886 (New Brunswick) – 1918 (Seringes-et-Nesles)



Within the broken Vatican
 The murdered Pope is lying dead.
The soldiers of Valerian
 Their evil hands are wet and red.

Unarmed, unmoved, St. Laurence waits,
 His cassock is his only mail.
The troops of Hell have burst the gates,
 But Christ is Lord, He shall prevail.

They have encompassed him with steel,
 They spit upon his gentle face,
He smiles and bleeds, nor will reveal
 The Church's hidden treasure-place.

Ah, faithful steward, worthy knight,
 Well hast thou done. Behold thy fee!
Since thou hast fought the goodly fight
 A martyr's death is fixed for thee.

St. Laurence, pray for us to bear
 The faith which glorifies thy name.
St. Laurence, pray for us to share
 The wounds of Love's consuming flame.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
57

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 704
Words 124
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Joyce Kilmer

Joyce Kilmer was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees", which was published in the collection Trees and Other Poems in 1914. more…

All Joyce Kilmer poems | Joyce Kilmer Books

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