Rotary Reflection 10 June 2020
The lockdown has produced a Poem by Gilbert Keith Chesterton. As a young man, he wrote it in dark times and it continues to have much relevance for us today. Chesterton, of course, wrote the Father Brown Detective Series and he was also one of the most prolific and dynamic English writers and journalists of his day. David Kram AM will probably know that the Poem was set to a tune called “Kings Lynn”.
“O God of Earth and Altar” by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
O God of earth and altar,
Bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers falter,
Our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us,
The swords of scorn divide,
Take not thy thunder from us,
But take away our pride.
From all that terror teaches,
From lies of tongue and pen,
From all the easy speeches
That comfort cruel men,
From sale and profanation
Of honour and the sword,
From sleep and from damnation,
Deliver us, good Lord.
Tie in a living tether
The prince and priest and thrall,
Bind all our lives together,
Smite us and save us all;
In ire and exultation
Aflame with faith, and free,
Lift up a living nation,
A single sword to thee.
