Pearley Kirkland 1901-1914

Pearley Kirkland 1901-1914 Riding double one day In musty Sycamore Canyon With Dewey Hicks on “Belle,” His old cranky mare, We watched the stubborn ascension Of the sultry sun, Through the cloak of sycamores and willows there, And transmitted from his mouth To my naive ears, I heard the wisdom of the ages! Heard the voice of tenacious truth And rigid reality. He told me I was in need of a savior. He told me of the Nazarene, magnificent; The Alpha and the Omega, everlasting; The Eternal Redeemer, superb; He told me of the Rose of Sharon, sublime. Dewey took my hand that day, That warm and wonderful day, And I accepted the spectacle at Golgotha, Accepted the screaming cry of the Skull. And then, with blustery April, my time arrived. I died of influenza, with Dewey reading the twenty third psalm. When I breathed one last time, I closed my burning eyes, and Saw the Rose of Sharon, sublime.