¶ The Dawning.
AWake sad heart, whom sorrow ever drowns; Take up thine eyes, which feed on earth; Unfold thy forehead gatherd into frowns: Thy Saviour comes, and with him mirth: Awake, awake; And with a thankfull heart his comforts take. But thou dost still lament, and pine, and crie; And feel his death, but not his victorie. Arise sad heart; if thou dost not withstand, Christs resurrection thine may be: Do not by hanging down break from the hand, Which as it riseth, raiseth thee: Arise, Arise; And with his buriall-linen drie thine eyes: Christ left his grave-clothes, that we might, when grief Draws tears, or bloud, not want an handkerchief.
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Religon Professor after class: Readers, even those who are religious, react to the last line as if Steven King wrote it. That is not the motive, nor the meaning. Christ conquered death. His "grave-clothes" remind us that our earthly sorrow can be wiped away by our faith in Christ's Resurrection. "Arise sad heart." |
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