Rougher than Death the road I choose <br />Yet shall my feet not walk astray, <br />Though dark, my way I shall not lose <br />For this way is the darkest way. <br /> <br />Set but a limit to the loss <br />And something shall at last abide <br />The blood-stained beams that form the cross <br />The thorns that crown the crucified; <br /> <br />But who shall lose all things in One, <br />Shut out from heaven and the pit <br />Shall lose the darkness and the sun <br />The finite and the infinite; <br /> <br />And who shall see in one small flower <br />The chariots and the thrones of might <br />Shall be in peril from that hour <br />Of blindness and the endless night; <br /> <br />And who shall hear in one short name <br />Apocalyptic thunders seven <br />His heart shall flicker like a flame <br />Twixt hell’s gates and the gates of heaven. <br /> <br />For I have seen your body’s grace, <br />The miracle of the flowering rod, <br />And in the beauty of your face, <br />The glory of the face of God, <br /> <br />And I have heard the thunderous roll <br />Clamour from heights of prophecy <br />Your splendid name, and from my soul <br />Uprose the clouds of minstrelsy. <br /> <br />Now I have chosen in the dark <br />The desolate way to walk alone <br />Yet strive to keep alive one spark <br />Of your known grace and grace unknown. <br /> <br />And when I leave you lest my love <br />Should seal your spirit’s ark with clay, <br />Spread your bright wings, O shining dove,— <br />But my way is the darkest way.<br /><br />Joseph Mary Plunkett<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-dark-way/
