Those eternal bowers - John of Da­mas­cus

Those eternal bowers 

Man hath never trod, 

Those unfading flowers 

Round the throne of God, —

Who may hope to gain them, 

After weary fight? 

Who at length attain them, 

Clad in robes of white? 

He who gladly barters 

All on earthly ground ; 

He who, like the martyrs, 

Says, "I will be crowned;" 

He whose one oblation 

Is a life of love, 

Clinging to the nation 

Of the blest above. 

Shame upon you, legions 

Of the Heavenly King, 

Denizens of regions 

Past imagining! 

What! with pipe and tabor 

Fool away the light. 

When he bids you labor; 

When he tells you, "Fight !" 

While I do my duty, 

Struggling through the tide, 

Whisper thou of beauty 

On the other side! 

Tell who will the story 

Of our now distress: 

Oh, the future glory! 

Oh, the loveliness! 

---

John of Damascus (675-749) modern Syria

full name: Yuhanna (or Yanah) ibn Mansur ibn Sarjun

Translated by John Mason Neale

Source: Songs of the soul: gathered out of many lands and ages by Samuel Irenaeus Prime, Robert Carter and Brothers, 1874