Jan Svatopluk Machar

“ After you, as before you. And the birds,
Scouring the air, and every living creature
That roves the earth, has lived and lives to-day
After a single law,—and that is mine.
The stronger ever preys upon the weaker.
And so with mortals too. This whole wide world
Is my domain. For I am Life itself.
I rule alone. I lurk in hearts and souls,
And none shall hound me out or banish me.
Not you, and not your Father. Your God's kingdom
Is dream. That dream I leave to men for ever.
Under the cross, behold the Roman captain
In peaceful converse with the white-haired scribe! ”

“ You went to preach the coming realm of heaven
Unto the poor, the weak. To stainless hearts
You offered treasures of undwindling worth.
To simple souls you sought to show the way
Unto the father's glory. From men's brows
You strove to cleanse the trace of Adam's curse.
You turned to death with calm abandonment,
Like to the lamb, that opens not its mouth,
And you have shed your blood as it were dew,
So that your new-sown grain might not be parched.
Jesus of Nazareth, behold these throngs,
That surge like billows round about your cross! ”

“ The glow of earth beneath his feet ablaze.
When tearful autumn roves across the land,
And everywhere a parlous mist is poured,
And every day a purgatory seems—
We gladly clutch the wine-cup in our hand ”