Wednesday, June 25, 2025

The Eternal Riddle

 The following poem was written in 1914 byPhilip M. Raskin 

(how true this is even today)

Israel, my people, God's greatest riddle,
Will thy solution ever be told

Fought - never conquered, bent - never broken,
Mortal - immortal, youthful, though old.

Egypt enslaved thee, Babylon crushed thee,
Rome led thee captive, homeless thy head.

Where are those nations mighty and fearsome
Thou hast survived them, they are long dead.

Nations keep coming, nations keep going,
Passing like shadows, wiped off the earth.

Thou an eternal witness remainest,
Watching their burial, watching their birth.

Pray, who revealed thee Heaven's great secret:
Death and destruction, thus to defy

Suffering torture, stake, inquisition -
Prithee, who taught thee never to die

Ay, and who gave thee faith, deep as ocean,
Strong as the rock-hills, fierce as the sun

Hated and hunted, ever thou wand'rest,
Bearing a message: God is but one!

Pray, has thy saga likewise an ending,
As its beginning glorious of old

Israel, my people, God's greatest riddle,
Will thy solution ever be told



No comments: