THE WEDDING FEAST

Said the chief of the marriage feast to the groom, Whence is this blood of the vine? Men serve at first the best, he said, And at the last, poor wine. Said the chief of the marriage feast to the groom, When the guests have drunk their fill They drink whatever wine you serve, Nor know the good from the ill. How have you kept the good till now When our hearts nor care nor see? Said the chief of the marriage feast to the groom, Whence may this good wine be? Said the chief of the marriage feast, this wine Is the best of all by far. Said the groom, there stand six jars without And the wine fills up each jar. Said the chief of the marriage feast, we lacked Wine for the wedding feast. How comes it now one jar of wine To six jars is increased? Who makes our cup to overflow? And who has the wedding blest? Said the groom to the chief of the feast, a stranger Is here as a wedding guest. Said the groom to the chief of the wedding feast, Moses by power divine Smote water at Meribah from the rock, But this man makes us wine. Said the groom to the chief of the wedding feast, Elisha by power divine Made oil for the widow to sell for bread, But this man, wedding wine. He changed the use of the jars, he said, From an outward rite and sign: Where water stood for the washing of feet, For heart's delight there's wine. So then 'tis he, said the chief of the feast, Who the wedding feast has blest? Said the groom to the chief of the feast, the stranger Is the merriest wedding guest. He laughs and jests with the wedding guests, He drinks with the happy bride. Said the chief of the wedding feast to the groom, Go bring him to my side. Jesus of Nazareth came up, And his body was fair and slim. Jesus of Nazareth came up, And his mother came with him. Jesus of Nazareth stands with the dancers And his mother by him stands. The bride kneels down to Jesus of Nazareth And kisses his rosy hands. The bridegroom kneels to Jesus of Nazareth And Jesus blesses the twain. I go a way, said Jesus of Nazareth, Of darkness, sorrow and pain. After the wedding feast is labor, Suffering, sickness, death, And so I make you wine for the wedding, Said Jesus of Nazareth. My heart is with you, said Jesus of Nazareth, As the grape is one with the vine. Your bliss is mine, said Jesus of Nazareth, And so I make you wine. Youth and love I bless, said Jesus, Song and the cup that cheers. The rosy hands of Jesus of Nazareth Are wet with the young bride's tears. Love one another, said Jesus of Nazareth, Ere cometh the evil of years. The rosy hands of Jesus of Nazareth Are wet with the bridegroom's tears. Jesus of Nazareth goes with his mother, The dancers are dancing again. There's a woman who pauses without to listen, 'Tis Mary Magdalen. Forth to the street a Scribe from the wedding Goes with a Sadducee. Said the Scribe, this shows how loose a fellow Can come out of Galilee!

By the waters of Babylon by the sea, On the sand where the waters died, The sea wind and the tide Drowned the words you spoke to me. The sea fell at our feet. The sand Hushed the whispering waters, near The babble of boats by the pier Was the ictus to the roar on the strand. By the waters of Babylon a grief to be, The waiting ships in the bay, Awed the words we would say Against the sound of the sea: For France was below the waters, and the west Behind me where the rains Come in November on the window panes, And the blast shakes the ruined nest Under the dripping eaves. What then remains But memory of the waters of Babylon, And the ships like swan after swan, Under the drone of angry hydroplanes? By the waters of Babylon we did not weep, Though love comes and is gone, As the wind is, as waters drawn In spray from the deep. Neither for things foreseen and ominous, For newer hands that somewhere wait To thrill afresh, the reblossomed fate Did we surrender dolorous.... Change now is yours beyond the waters, nights Of waiting and of doubt have dimmed desire. Our hands are calm before the dying fire Of lost delights. Babylon by the sea knows us no more. Between the surge's hushes When on the sand the water rushes There is no voice of ours upon the shore.