"Good Friday" by Christina G. Rossetti

Today is Good Friday, the Friday before Easter observed in churches as the anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ. Read the poem "Good Friday" by Christina G. Rossetti.

Christina G. Rossetti (1830-1894)

English poet

"The Upper Room" by Belle F. Owens : Christ in Poetry

     Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?"
     And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?" Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us."

-- The Bible: Mark 14:12-15 (New King James Version)

THE UPPER ROOM

by Belle F. Owens

Oh, had it been mine, that upper room,

To make all fair with oil and bloom!

I'd spread clean rushes on the floor,

Put water jug and towel by the door;

A linen cloth as white as May,

A runner, on the table lay.

I have no incense, only bread and wine;

The grapes and winepress, they are mine;

My bread, as spikenard redolent,

Is of all wholesome odors blent.

Then, having made all fresh and fair,

I would give thanks for this my share.

Source of poem: Christ in Poetry (1952), an anthology compiled and edited by Thomas Curtis Clark and Hazel Davis Clark

A Pair of Observations by Henry David Thoreau on 27 and 28 March 1853

On 27 March 1853, Henry David Thoreau wrote the following observation in his journal:

Tried to see the faint-croaking frogs at J. P. Browns pond in the woods --  They are remarkably timid & shy -- had their noses & eyes out -- croaking -- but all ceased dove & concealed themselves before I got within a rod of the shore. Stood perfectly still amid the bushes on the shore -- before one showed himself -- finally 5 or 6 & all eyed me -- gradually approached me within 3 feet to reconnoitre and though I waited about 1/2 hour would not utter a sound nor take their eyes off me --  Were plainly affected by curiosity.


On this day in 1853, Thoreau wrote the following observation in his journal:

My Aunt Maria asked me to read the life of Dr. Chalmers -- which however I did not promise to do. Yesterday, Sunday, she was heard through the partition shouting to my Aunt Jane who is deaf --  "Think of it, he stood haf an hour today to hear the frogs croak, and he would'nt read the life of Chalmers -- "


Source: Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (2005), edited by Steve Grant

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) 

From the Bible: Words of the Lord

In the King James Version of the Bible, II Chronicles 7:14 reads:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

In the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, 2 Chronicles 7:14 reads:

. . . if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.


(Photo credit: Monty Gilmer. Copyright 2020 Monty Gilmer. All rights reserved.)

An Observation by Henry David Thoreau on 22 March 1861

On this day in 1861, Henry David Thoreau wrote the following observation in his journal:

A seed, which is a plant or tree in embryo, which has the principle of growth, of life, in it, is more important in my eyes, and in the economy of Nature, than the diamond of Kohinoor.

Source: Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (2005), edited by Steve Grant

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

An Observation by Henry David Thoreau on 20 March 1855

On this day in 1855, Henry David Thoreau wrote the following observation in his journal:

Trying the other day to imitate the honking of geese, I found myself flapping my sides with my elbows, as with wings, and uttering something like the syllables mow-ack with a nasal twang and twist in my head; and I produced their note so perfectly in the opinion of the hearers that I thought I might possibly draw a flock down.

Source: Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (2005), edited by Steve Grant

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

"The Golden Rule": A Poem of Jesus Christ

Here is a poem of Jesus Christ about the Golden Rule, a rule of ethical conduct referring to Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31. As Edwin Markham wrote, "We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; now let us commit it to life."

THE GOLDEN RULE

A Poem of Jesus Christ

from the Bible, New International Version (2011)

In everything, do to others

What you would have them do to you,

For this sums up the Law

And the Prophets. Do to others

As you would have them do to you.

An Observation by Henry David Thoreau on 8 March 1859

Here where I live in Virginia it has been snowing off and on all day. On this day in 1859 Henry David Thoreau wrote the following observation in his journal:

To us snow and cold seem a mere delaying of the spring. How far we are from understanding the value of these things in the economy of Nature!

Source: Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (2005), edited by Steve Grant

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

"To the Supreme Being" by Michelangelo

On this day in 1475, according to the Associated Press, "Italian artist and poet Michelangelo was born in Caprese in the Republic of Florence." Here is a sonnet that he wrote, a sonnet translated, from the Italian, by English poet William Wordsworth.


TO THE SUPREME BEING

The prayers I make will then be sweet indeed,
If Thou the spirit give by which I pray:
My unassisted heart is barren clay,
Which of its native self can nothing feed:
Of good and pious works Thou art the seed,
Which quickens only where Thou say'st it may;
Unless Thou show to us Thine own true way,
No man can find it: Father! Thou must lead.
Do Thou, then, breathe those thoughts into my mind
By which such virtue may in me be bred
That in Thy holy footsteps I may tread;
The fetters of my tongue do Thou unbind,
That I may have the power to sing of Thee,
And sound Thy praises everlastingly.

Michelangelo (1475-1564)