Religion

struggle4progress

(118,282 posts) Fri Mar 22, 2013, 01:52 AM Mar 2013

Abou Ben Adhem

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:—
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the Presence in the room he said
"What writest thou?"—The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerily still, and said "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.

-- Leigh Hunt, ~1837

5 replies

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Abou Ben Adhem (Original Post) struggle4progress Mar 2013 OP

I have always loved this......it's so beautiful. n/t CaliforniaPeggy Mar 2013 #1

There is better advice in this poem DonCoquixote Mar 2013 #2

Leigh Hunt, is remembered for exactly two poems Fortinbras Armstrong Mar 2013 #3

A classic rendering: muriel_volestrangler Mar 2013 #4

lol struggle4progress Mar 2013 #5

CaliforniaPeggy

(149,614 posts)

1. I have always loved this......it's so beautiful. n/t

Reply to struggle4progress (Original post)

Fri Mar 22, 2013, 01:58 AM

Mar 2013

DonCoquixote

(13,616 posts)

2. There is better advice in this poem

Reply to struggle4progress (Original post)

Fri Mar 22, 2013, 02:06 AM

Mar 2013

than half the parables in the Torah, New testament, or the Koran.

Fortinbras Armstrong

(4,473 posts)

3. Leigh Hunt, is remembered for exactly two poems

Reply to struggle4progress (Original post)

Fri Mar 22, 2013, 07:30 AM

Mar 2013

The other is:

Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in!
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,
Say that health and wealth have missed me,
Say I'm growing old, but add,
Jenny kissed me.

"Jenny", BTW, was Thomas Carlyle's wife, Jane Welsh. Hunt had been ill for some time, and when he got better, he went to visit the Carlyles. (Last year, one of my sons and his girlfriend came to visit. Just as they were leaving to return home, she kissed me. That poem immediately flashed through my mind.)

Hunt's real contribution to poetry was as the editor of a magazine to which John Keats submitted some of his poems. Hunt criticized the poems, considerably improving Keats' poetry.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,312 posts)

4. A classic rendering:

Reply to struggle4progress (Original post)

Fri Mar 22, 2013, 08:35 AM

Mar 2013

struggle4progress

(118,282 posts)

5. lol

Reply to muriel_volestrangler (Reply #4)

Fri Mar 22, 2013, 01:26 PM

Mar 2013

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