Purification Poem by David Mitchell

I

There is a purifying fire that no man can evade;
It is the fire of truth and love and justice once betrayed,
For Right shall be avenged and every farthing must be paid.


II

Our Lord went forth to Calvary to pay in full the price.
It was for us He suffered death, to vanquish all our vice.
He did not shirk (although He feared) the Greatest Sacrifice.

III

His Blood was shed for love of us unto the latest dram.
Behold Him now! Behold Him! He is God's unspotted Lamb.
Desire of the Eternal Hills, He is the Great I AM.

IV

And we shall follow Him even as far as Calvary,
And know the pain inflicted by a world that does not see,
And we shall die a death of love, and truth shall make us free.

V

There is a fire that burns the soul as trial is heaped on trial:
O to be free from such a world as this one filled with bile!
But patience: all things have their end, even our sin and guile.

VI

The fire that burns the stains away is painful to endure,
But trust in Him alone, for no foundation is more sure;
And the refiner's fire will make you holy, just, and pure.

VII

I can't go on. I must go on. Arise, then, let us go
For there is no escape within this world from pain and woe.
That love was never without pain, God became man to show.

VIII

Let us go THROUGH, we shall be free, and we shall be at peace,
A peace not as the world giveth, but giveth us release,
A peace of soul that even in flames maketh all anguish cease.

IX

This fire is not to torture us; it is purify
Like gold; both gold and worthy men the crucible shall try:
And so go on, let come what may. Blessed are you who cry.


31st March,2012 (Vigil of Palm Sunday,2012)