| |
| THE SONS of Mary seldom bother, for they have inherited that good part; | |
| But the Sons of Martha favour their Mother of the careful soul and the troubled heart. | |
| And because she lost her temper once, and because she was rude to the Lord her Guest, | |
| Her Sons must wait upon Mary’s Sons, world without end, reprieve, or rest. | |
| |
| It is their care in all the ages to take the buffet and cushion the shock. | 5 |
| It is their care that the gear engages; it is their care that the switches lock. | |
| It is their care that the wheels run truly; it is their care to embark and entrain, | |
| Tally, transport, and deliver duly the Sons of Mary by land and main. | |
| |
| They say to mountains, “Be ye removèd.” They say to the lesser floods “Be dry.” | |
| Under their rods are the rocks reprovèd—they are not afraid of that which is high. | 10 |
| Then do the hill-tops shake to the summit—then is the bed of the deep laid bare, | |
| That the Sons of Mary may overcome it, pleasantly sleeping and unaware. | |
| |
| They finger death at their gloves’ end where they piece and repiece the living wires. | |
| He rears against the gates they tend: they feed him hungry behind their fires. | |
| Early at dawn, ere men see clear, they stumble into his terrible stall, And hale him forth like a haltered steer, and goad and turn him till evenfall. | 15 |
| |
| To these from birth is Belief forbidden; from these till death is Relief afar. | |
| They are concerned with matters hidden—under the earth-line their altars are: | |
| The secret fountains to follow up, waters withdrawn to restore to the mouth, | |
| And gather the floods as in a cup, and pour them again at a city’s drouth. | |
| |
| They do not preach that their God will rouse them a little before the nuts work loose. | 20 |
| They do not teach that His Pity allows them to leave their job when they damn-well choose. | |
| As in the thronged and the lighted ways, so in the dark and the desert they stand, | |
| Wary and watchful all their days that their brethren’s days may be long in the land. | |
| |
| Raise ye the stone or cleave the wood to make a path more fair or flat; | |
| Lo, it is black already with blood some Son of Martha spilled for that! | 25 |
| Not as a ladder from earth to Heaven, not as a witness to any creed, | |
| But simple service simply given to his own kind in their common need. | |
| |
| And the Sons of Mary smile and are blessèd—they know the angels are on their side. | |
| They know in them is the Grace confessèd, and for them are the Mercies multiplied. | |
| They sit at the Feet—they hear the Word—they see how truly the Promise runs. | 30 |
| They have cast their burden upon the Lord, and—the Lord He lays it on Martha’s Sons! | |
| |
