The Hound of Heaven
[With apologies to the real poet, Francis Thompson (1890), whose poem, like everything else, is available on line.]
Sensing him close behind me,
Down corridors of night I ran,
Feeling the Hound of Heaven
Snapping close at hand.
Ahead I saw two entrances:
I chose the one with light,
For I saw that it turned sharply,
Sharply to the right.
Now I saw before me,
The way to twist and turn,
To escape the fierce and fiery beast
Whose breath was sure to burn!
Still I ran through darkness
Through darkness much like light,
The beast behind me baying
While I stumbled through bright night.
Onward up I scrambled
Seeking myself to save;
Though all I did was scrape my knees—
Forgive me; I’m not brave.
I fell down in the darkness
Hitting chest and head.
The hound leaped upward toward me;
All I felt was dread.
He bit my head, chewed my brain,
And clawed open my chest;
Always driving toward my heart,
He quite consumed the rest.
I tried to move him off me,
But he quickly found my heart.
He sank his teeth in deeply;
He tore my heart apart!
I died that day in August,
Many years ago;
But, oh, the difference death has made,
For the love I’ve come to know!
Coda:
The Spirit of God is the breath of life,
Who soars and sings like the birds of the air
Who enables us to proclaim the faith
That Jesus is Lord—not death and despair!
Image: No, that’s just Schuster, though notice the somewhat demonic face on his chest. Given his behavior I sometimes believe he may very well be possessed.
