Classic Poem

Long had the Saracen with ruthless arms,
Denied all access to this place of awe;
Next came the Christian Church, with holy psalms
Charming the gloom of hollow Machpelah:
Anon, the votaries of Mohammed's name,
Returning, trod the desecrated floors,
And, in the gusts through those re-opening doors,
The dreary Moslem voices went and came
In Jacob's ears! But now a step draws nigh,
A sound to reassure the patriarch's heart
With promise of the coming time, and start
The cerements from the hollow of his thigh,
As tho' the angel call'd: for lo! they meet—
The ‘Ladder’ and the ‘Cross,’ with promise sweet!