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Home  »  The Oxford Book of English Verse  »  770. That Holy Thing

Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.

George MacDonald. 1824–1905

770. That Holy Thing

THEY all were looking for a king 
  To slay their foes and lift them high: 
Thou cam’st, a little baby thing 
    That made a woman cry. 
 
O Son of Man, to right my lot         5
  Naught but Thy presence can avail; 
Yet on the road Thy wheels are not, 
    Nor on the sea Thy sail! 
 
My how or when Thou wilt not heed, 
  But come down Thine own secret stair,  10
That Thou mayst answer all my need— 
    Yea, every bygone prayer.