There Was A Saviour

 There was a saviour
 Rarer than radium,
 Commoner than water, crueller than truth;
 Children kept from the sun
 Assembled at his tongue
 To hear the golden note turn in a groove,
Prisoners of wishes locked their eyes
In the jails and studies of his keyless smiles.

 The voice of children says
 From a lost wilderness
 There was calm to be done in his safe unrest,
 When hindering man hurt
 Man, animal, or bird
 We hid our fears in that murdering breath,
Silence, silence to do, when earth grew loud,
In lairs and asylums of the tremendous shout.

 There was glory to hear
 In the churches of his tears,
 Under his downy arm you sighed as he struck,
 O you who could not cry
 On to the ground when a man died
 Put a tear for joy in the unearthly flood
And laid your cheek against a cloud-formed shell:
Now in the dark there is only yourself and myself.

 Two proud, blacked brothers cry,
 Winter-locked side by side,
 To this inhospitable hollow year,
 O we who could not stir
 One lean sigh when we heard
 Greed on man beating near and fire neighbour
 But wailed and nested in the sky-blue wall
Now break a giant tear for the little known fall,

 For the drooping of homes
 That did not nurse our bones,
 Brave deaths of only ones but never found,
 Now see, alone in us,
 Our own true strangers' dust
 Ride through the doors of our unentered house.
Exiled in us we arouse the soft,
Unclenched, armless, silk and rough love that breaks all rocks.

Form: Free verse Comments

Comments About This Poem

Share your interpretation, favorite passage, or thoughts about this famous poem. Please provide an in-depth and meaningful comment.

  • What do you think the poet was trying to say?
  • Which line had the biggest impact on you?
  • How does this poem relate to modern life?
  • What literary devices did you notice?
No comments have been posted yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.
Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace