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THE LORD SPEAKS
God said to the PuritanAs He stood on the bank of His river:"I told you to swim to me;You builded a bridge of stoneTo bring back the Soul to the Giver.Your timorous, dry-shod planWas well enough in its way,But you wrestled and toiled alone,And your work was heavier far,And now you will have to stayOn the bank till you learn to play—Old and stiff as you are."
God said to the drowning Sinner:"I told you to swim to me.But you played and played in the stream,And you stayed and stayed in the stream,And you laughed at the ones who saidYou might stay in the water too long.And now you are cramped and cold,And you will go down in the stream.And then, fished out of the slime,I must leave you to air and dry,Wasting eternal TimeHung on a thorn, to sighWhile measureless years go by."
God called to the Swimmer-with-Glee,God called to the Laden-and-Weary,"Swim to me, swim to me!Dear,I am a shady TreeFor those who rest from the River."
The Yale ReviewKarle Wilson Baker

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