| Nicholson & Lee, eds. The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse. 1917. |
| |
| 150. Disguises |
| By Thomas Edward Brown (1830–1897) |
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| HIGH stretched upon the swinging yard, | |
| I gather in the sheet; | |
| But it is hard | |
| And stiff, and one cries haste. | |
| Then He that is most dear in my regard | 5 |
| Of all the crew gives aidance meet; | |
| But from His hands, and from His feet, | |
| A glory spreads wherewith the night is starred: | |
| Moreover of a cup most bitter-sweet | |
| With fragrance as of nard, | 10 |
| And myrrh, and cassia spiced, | |
| He proffers me to taste. | |
| Then I to Him:—‘Art Thou the Christ?’ | |
| He saith—‘Thou say’st.’ | |
| |
| Like to an ox | 15 |
| That staggers ’neath the mortal blow, | |
| She grinds upon the rocks:— | |
| Then straight and low | |
| Leaps forth the levelled line, and in our quarter locks | |
| The cradle’s rigged; with swerving of the blast | 20 |
| We go, | |
| Our Captain last— | |
| Demands | |
| ‘Who fired that shot?’ Each silent stands— | |
| Ah, sweet perplexity! | 25 |
| This too was He. | |
| |
| I have an arbour wherein came a toad | |
| Most hideous to see— | |
| Immediate, seizing staff or goad, | |
| I smote it cruelly. | 30 |
| Then all the place with subtle radiance glowed— | |
| I looked, and it was He! | |
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