Page:A Christmas Faggot (1884, Gurney).djvu/31

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BETHLEHEM GATE
13

Two guard the frowning gateway: one
Is of a solemn countenance;
To him a rapid backward glance
Reveals a massacre begun.


The other, forward gazing, sees
The glory of the age to come,
The fruitfulness of martyrdom,
Of deaths that are nativities.


O weeping mothers, dry your tears!
The Mother whom this canvass shows
Nor fears, nor weeps, although she knows
An anguish deeper than your fears.