TIDAL, KING OF NATIONS
... and Tidal, king of nations—
Genesis xiv
Tidal, King of Nations,
Sent a proclamation forth
To the tribes of the South
And the clans of the North;
His word flew and travelled
Quick as a gathering flame,
The far-off people shook
At the rumour of his name.
Tidal, King of Nations,
Thy name is for thee,
Shadowy and vast,
An immortality.
Tidal, King of Nations—
Lo, at the sound
Terrible armies leap
Crying from the ground.
High in the midst, on
A white throne is He,
Set as a firm rock
In the surge of the sea.
Clear as the moon his brow is,
But in his secret eyes
Shadow within shadow dark
The future lies.
In his hand glitters
The phantom of a sword;
The warring peoples cry
And hail him for lord:
But within his dark eyes
Where future time grows
Are gentleness, mercy,
Peace and repose.
The nations bow and tremble,
They do not understand,
They only see the gleam
Of the wrath in his hand.
Tidal, King of Nations,
Thy name is for thee,—
Oh, far-off brotherhood!—
An immortality.