Poems (Tynan)/Sign Manual

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4513902Poems — Sign ManualKatharine Tynan
SIGN MANUAL
This is Thy lamb, yea, Lamb of God
This, for whose sake Thy veins ran dry,
This, for whose sake by a hill-road
Thou wentest forth to die.

This is Thy lamb, though torn, defiled
By the beast's teeth. Where no stars gleam
All night, and never an angel smiled;
It went in an ill dream.

So is it torn and stained so deep,
Thy lamb, Thy lamb, bruised and astray.
O the true Shepherd knoweth His sheep,
Though hirelings turn away.

See then below the scarlet sin,
Shaming its heat, Thine own mark, see!
Thy Name in blood that hath sunk in
Dripping from Calvary Tree.