New Hymn
(James Taylor and Reynolds Price)
Source of all we hope or dread
Sheepdog, jackyl, rattler, swan
We hunt your face and long to trust
That your hid mouth will say again let there be light
A clear new day
But when we thirst in this dry night
We drink from hot wells poisoned with the blood of children
And when we strain to hear a steady homing beam
Our ears are balked by stiffled moans
And howls of desolation from the throats of sisters, brother, wild men
Clawing at the gates for bread
Even our own feeble hands
(James Taylor and Reynolds Price)
Source of all we hope or dread
Sheepdog, jackyl, rattler, swan
We hunt your face and long to trust
That your hid mouth will say again let there be light
A clear new day
But when we thirst in this dry night
We drink from hot wells poisoned with the blood of children
And when we strain to hear a steady homing beam
Our ears are balked by stiffled moans
And howls of desolation from the throats of sisters, brother, wild men
Clawing at the gates for bread
Even our own feeble hands