Second Coming

WERE you there,
Were you there,
WHEN they crucified
My Lord?
When they struck
His holihood,
When they nailed him
To the rood,
When they drew
His burning blood ?
(I was there,
I was there,
And I saw him
Hanging there,
Felt the thunder
In my soul
Smite the thunder
In the air.)

Were you there,
Were you there,
When he stood
Beside the tomb,
In the garden
In the morn,
Risen from
Gehenna’s womb?
(I was there,
I was there,
And I saw him
Standing there,
Saw his patient
Lonely smile,
Fairer far
Than all things fair,
And I heard
His plighted word
To return
Among us here.)

Were you there,
Were you there,
When he kept
His pledge to men,
When he came
To earth again?
When they cast him
In the dust,
When they broke
His fervid trust,
When they sealed
A nation’s doom
In the name
Of kingdom come,
When they dropped
The cobalt bomb?
(I was there,
I was there,
And I saw him
Weeping there,
Saw the pitiless
Sharp crown
Pressing close
About his hair,
And I saw
The seraphim
As they swung
Their swords of flame,
And I saw
The victims’ feet
All around
The I udgment Seat,
And I felt
The wrath of God
Like a vast
Devouring cloud,
And I watched
The world go down
In a cloud
Of dust and doom,
To the bottom
Of the pit.
And I wondered
As my Lord
Rose and followed
After it.)