Poems (Shipton)/The Weary Watcher
THE WEARY WATCHER.
What! could ye not watch with me one hour?"—Matt. xxvi. 40.
O loving and beloved, couldst thou not watch
One hour with Him who watched so oft for thee:
Some deeper meaning from His grief to catch,
And weep with Him in drear Gethsemane?
"Could ye not watch?" Jesus! no reproof
Ruffled Thy holy pleading with Thine own,
Thy chosen friends; and yet they stand aloof—
No heart to share Thine agonizing groan!
I weary too, while watching, Lord, with Thee;
How swift am I to slumber at Thy side:
End quickly, Lord, my sad captivity,
That I, at Thy loved feet, my shame may hide.
One hour with Him who watched so oft for thee:
Some deeper meaning from His grief to catch,
And weep with Him in drear Gethsemane?
"Could ye not watch?" Jesus! no reproof
Ruffled Thy holy pleading with Thine own,
Thy chosen friends; and yet they stand aloof—
No heart to share Thine agonizing groan!
I weary too, while watching, Lord, with Thee;
How swift am I to slumber at Thy side:
End quickly, Lord, my sad captivity,
That I, at Thy loved feet, my shame may hide.