English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. I Went Down into the Desert. Вэчел Линдсей.

Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей)

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I went down into the desert
To meet Elijah—
Arisen from the dead.
I thought to. find him in an echoing cave;
For so my dream had said.

I went down into the desert
To meet John the Baptist.
I walked with feet that bled,
Seeking that prophet lean and brown and bold.
I spied foul fiends instead.

I went down into the desert
To meet my God.
By him be comforted.
I went down into the desert
To meet my God.
And I met the devil in red.

I went down into the desert
To meet my God.
O, Lord my God, awaken from the dead!
I see you there, your thorn-crown on the ground,
I see you there, half-buried in the sand.
I see you there, your white bones glistening, bare,
The carrion-birds a-wheeling round your head.

Vachel Lindsay’s other poems:

1. The Potatoes’ Dance
2. Our Mother Pocahontas
3. I Heard Immanuel Singing
4. When Gassy Thompson Struck It Rich
5. Incense

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