4119717Copper Sun — The Litany of the Dark PeopleCountee Cullen
The Litany of the Dark People
Our flesh that was a battle-groundShows now the morning-break;The ancient deities are downedFor Thy eternal sake.Now that the past is left behind,Fling wide Thy garment’s hemTo keep us one with Thee in mind,Thou Christ of Bethlehem.
The thorny wreath may ridge our brow,The spear may mar our side,And on white wood from a scented boughWe may be crucified;Yet no assault the old gods makeUpon our agonyShall swerve our footsteps from the wakeOf Thine toward Calvary.
And if we hunger now and thirst,Grant our withholders may,When heaven’s constellations burstUpon Thy crowning day,Be fed by us, and given to seeThy mercy in our eyes,When Bethlehem and CalvaryAre merged in Paradise.