GoSetaPhire

 APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!

Published In 1850

Written by J. C. HOADLY

I present...

JESUS WEPT

"A man should never weep."

It may be manliness to boast

Thy cheek was never wet

With tears of sorrow or remorse,

Of pity or regret;

The wayward pride may vaunt thine eye

Unwashed with gushing brine,--

Oh! this may well be manliness,--

For tears are all divine!

As o'er Sahara's burning waste

No verdant tale appears,

Save where the barren sands are wet

With Nature's genial tears;

See in the arid heart of man

A green oasis rise,

Alone where grief or pity opes

The fountain of the eyes!

Around thee want and woe may cower,

And wounded hearts may grieve,

And sin and sorrow--warp and woof--

Their Nessus' tissue weave;

Yet boast thee that no pitying tear

Adown thy cheek hath crept;

But when thou call'st it manliness,

Remember--Jesus wept!