A Jesus Kind of Joy

By | 28 October 2013

I profess an interest in it all,
The world-wide symphony of things,
The good, the hopeless and the small,
The crass cacophony that sings.

I hope for you, the not so tall
And the always about to win,
I wish them honey for their gall,
A sweeter sacrifice in sin.

I give to you, my maudlin man,
Love, that you might use it well
On malcontent and also ran,
A Jesus kind of joy in Hell.

I hand it out with great élan,
A little largesse for each day,
The doing well of what I can,
The loving faith in what it may.


This poem first appeared in Meanjin, 1968.

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