The Cedar Tree

*** Revised Common Lectionary *** Lectionary Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24 CLASSIC POEM: Cedars of Lebanon Letitia Elizabeth Landon Ye ancients of the earth, beneath whose shade Swept the fierce banners of earth’s mightiest kings, When millions for a battle were array’d, And the sky darken’d with the vulture’s wings. Long silence follow’d on the battle-cries; First the bones whiten’d, then were seen no more; The summer grasses sprang for summer skies, And dim tradition told no tales of yore. The works of peace succeeded those first ware, Men left the desert tents for marble walls; Then rose the towers from whence they watch’d the stars, And the vast wonders of their kingly halls. And they are perish’d—those imperial towers Read not amid the midnight stars their doom; The pomp and art of all their glorious hours Lie hidden in the sands that are their tomb. And ye, ancestral trees! are somewhat shorn Of the first strength that mark’d earth’s earlier clime; But still ye stand, stately and tempest-worn, To show how nature triumphs over time. Much have ye witness’d—but yet more remains; The mind’s great empire is but just begun; The desert beauty of your distant plains Proclaim how much has yet been left undone. Will not your giant columns yet behold The world’s old age, enlighten’d, calm, and free; More glorious than the glories known of old— The spirit’s placid rule o’er land and sea. All that the past has taught is not in vain— Wisdom is garner’d up from centuries gone; Love, Hope, and Mind prepare a nobler reign Than ye have known—Cedars of Lebanon! *** This poem is in the public domain, and may be read in a live-streamed worship service. CONTEMPORARY POEM: The Cedar Tree Richard Walker SNIPPET: … We know that a cedar tree can tell us by its rings when salmon runs were big, when bears and eagles and wolves feasted on salmon, and left the carcasses near the trees, … [ READ THE FULL POEM ]