08 March 2017

TS Eliot: The Song of the Women [A New Zealand Prayer Book]

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We praise thee, O God, 
for thy glory displayed in all the creatures of the earth.
In the snow, in the rain, in the wind, in the storm;
in all of thy creatures, both the hunters and the hunted.
For all things exist only as seen by thee, 
only as known by thee, all things exist
Only in thy light, and thy glory is declared 
even in that which denies thee;
the darkness declares the glory of light.
Those who deny thee could not deny, if thou didst not exist;
and their denial is never complete, 
for if it were so, they would not exist.
They affirm thee in living; all things affirm thee in living;
the bird in the air, both the hawk and the finch;
the beast on the earth, both the wolf and the lamb.
Therefore we, whom thou hast made to be conscious of thee,
must consciously praise thee, in thought and in word and in deed.


Canticle: The Song of the Women 
T. S. Eliot
A New Zealand Prayer Book
Anglican Church of New Zealand


I have had to break the lines above as they were written 
so this text could fit pleasingly on the small blog space allotted.
My apologies to the poet and the reader.

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