And thus we rust Life’s iron chain
Degraded and alone:
And some men curse, and some men weep,
And some men make no moan:
But God’s eternal Laws are kind
And break the heart of stone.
And every human heart that breaks,
In prison-cell or yard,
Is as that broken box that gave
Its treasure to the Lord,
And filled the unclean leper’s house
With the scent of costliest nard.
Ah! happy they whose hearts can break
And peace of pardon win!
How else may man make straight his plan
And cleanse his soul from Sin?
How else but through a broken heart
May Lord Christ enter in?
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COMMENTS
4 responses to “From The Ballad Of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde”
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So beautiful. Thanks for posting this.
I think it must be "Reading Gaol," no? The whole incarceration theme and all.
(As Spell Check fails again….)
Another great stanza:
The Chaplain would not kneel to pray
By his dishonoured grave:
Nor mark it with that blessed Cross
That Christ for sinners gave,
Because the man was one of those
Whom Christ came down to save.
and another…
And with tears of blood he cleansed the hand,
The hand that held the steel:
For only blood can wipe out blood,
And only tears can heal:
And the crimson stain that was of Cain
Became Christ's snow-white seal
I'm continually fascinated by Wilde's deep understanding of a faith he could never quite profess… esp. also in his poems "Helas!" and "Taedium Vitae" – Rilke's the same way.