There lived a liar once who planned
To crush the truth, and silence one
Who dwelt within a far-off land;
And marred his purpose, fearing none,
And hoped to smite; him by the hand
Of others, and to hold his own.
So, in a lordly tone, he wrote
To one—a better man, I wis—
Whose work it was, he said, to note
And punish madmen like to this
(Wellnigh his very words I quote) ;
And wherefore had he been remiss?
But this man proved a poor ally,
And read the letter to his foe—
A mail commissioned from on high
To raise aloft and lay alow—
Who straightway made a stern reply,
And doomed him to a double woe.
And soon the bow of God was bent
Against him and the arrow sped,
Because he prophesied unsent,
Misleading many whom he led ;
So all the mischief that he meant
Returned upon his own bad head.
No picture to my aid I call,
I shape no image in my prayers;
I only know in Him is all
Of life, light, beauty everywhere,
Eternal Goodness here and there.
