"I touched my God in His hands and side
"And I nearly wept, my God, I cried...
"Then I was whisted far away
"And forgot my God this day, this day.
"I asked St. Jude about the preacher
"But he said, "Read", my God my teacher
"I've forgotten You this day this day
"And then I whisted far away.
"Matthew or Zechariah I could not know
"I can not understand a thing so old
"For I am about as smart as gold
"Filled with lead and chaff and mold;
"Which I stored when my wife had gone
"A Christian woman whose adultery stung
"So Jude had seen this horrid thing,
"And said, 'My God, my LORD my King
"'Will at the end, You come with steed
"'And take ol' Thomas and Simon and me
"'And Thomas the Atheist until the day
"'Show Him Your hand, Your side so fay?
"'Will the arm be bare to him
"'And will the gold of Heaven be sin
"'Which he rejected on Earth his portion and lot?
"'My God, my God, my God, my God!
"'How does he not know a good shepherd from bad?
"'Is he a man, who cannot stand
"'Or is he a man whom Christians pierced
"'Like You, Your people, who scorned You fierce?
"'Will on the day of Trumpet sound
"'You reveal yourself, and give Thomas a crown
"'Who until the last and final days of Earth
"'Provide his knowledge, for its lack and dearth?'"
The Ballad of Thomas
Published
B. K. Neifert 