Pearl Read Online Free
Book: Pearl Read Online Free
Author: Simon Armitage
judge your lot as dejection and hurt,â
 said the gracious girl. âWhy is that so?
 Through his lament for lesser losses
 man often misses the greater gain.
 Better to sign yourself with the cross
 and thank your God through thick and thin,
 because anger profits you not one penny.
 If man must suffer he should sidestep stubbornness,
 and instead of dancing like a cornered deer,
 wriggling and writhing and bleating his woes
 without exit or escape either this way or that,
 he should heed the judgement of God in heaven.
Â
30
âCall Him unjust till the end of the Earth,
 but He will not swerve by a single step.
 No crumb of comfort will come your way
 if you wallow and wail in the well of pity,
 so quieten your quibbling, quit your carping
 and swiftly and honestly seek His sympathy.
 Hope that your prayers will pierce His heart,
 so that mercy might do what mercy does best.
 The comfort He offers can ease your anguish,
 scatter your fears, put sorrow to flight,
 so bury your feelings or flail in fury,
 the Almighty alone is judge and jury.â
VII
31
W ith judicious words I said to my jewel:
‘Let there be no offence to my Lord
if I rage and rave with spluttering speech.
But my heart is heavy and talk rushes headlong
like water from a spring, surging and spewing.
I fall on His mercy, this moment and for ever.
Never reproach me with wounding words
despite my errors, my gilded angel,
but kindly offer your consolations.
Be caring and thoughtful and recall this:
you who paired me with painful despair
were the bedrock on which my bliss was built.
Â
32
âMy bliss and my grief â you have been both â
 but my grief has been the greater by far.
 Since you were exiled from earthly care
 I could not guess where my pearl had gone,
 but seeing it again my sorrow subsides.
 Once in harmony, we were torn in half;
 may God forbid we be broken again,
 we so seldom meet by tree or stone!
 Though your conversation with me is courteous
 I lack all manners and am little more than dust.
 Let the mercy of Christ and Mary and John
 be the base on which I build my bliss.
Â
33
âYou stand before me in a blissful state,
 and myself a demoralised, mournful man.
 You appear to notice nothing of this,
 though I suffer greatly from searing sadness.
 But since you appear in my presence here
 I ask you to say, without argument,
 and to answer my question with hand on heart,
 what life you lead through dawn and dusk.
 My spirit soars, knowing your position
 is one of worth and high honour,
 for this is the ground and this the gate
 by which the road to my blissfulness runs.â
Â
34
âMay bliss find and follow you, sir,â
 said that figure of lovely limb and face.
âYou are welcome to walk and wait in this place,
 for now your speech is pleasing to hear.
 Arrogant attitude and haughty pride,
 I have to tell you, are detested here.
 My Lord has no liking of lifeâs complainers
 and only the humble find a home in His house.
 When you come to rest at last in His realm
 be deeply devout and meek in demeanour.
 My Lord the Lamb, who loves such a manner,
 is the rock on which my blissfulness rests.
Â
35
âYou say I lead a blissful life
 and wonder at such an exalted existence.
 As you know full well, when your pearl fell
 I was young in years and innocent at heart.
 But my Lord the Lamb by divine love
 brought me to marriage and made me His bride,
 crowned me His queen to bloom in blessedness
 today and tomorrow, till eternity.
 His honour and heritage I have inherited;
 I am wholly His and His alone.
 His grace, His nobility and family line
 are the root and branch of all my bliss.â
VIII
36
‘M y
 said the gracious girl. âWhy is that so?
 Through his lament for lesser losses
 man often misses the greater gain.
 Better to sign yourself with the cross
 and thank your God through thick and thin,
 because anger profits you not one penny.
 If man must suffer he should sidestep stubbornness,
 and instead of dancing like a cornered deer,
 wriggling and writhing and bleating his woes
 without exit or escape either this way or that,
 he should heed the judgement of God in heaven.
Â
30
âCall Him unjust till the end of the Earth,
 but He will not swerve by a single step.
 No crumb of comfort will come your way
 if you wallow and wail in the well of pity,
 so quieten your quibbling, quit your carping
 and swiftly and honestly seek His sympathy.
 Hope that your prayers will pierce His heart,
 so that mercy might do what mercy does best.
 The comfort He offers can ease your anguish,
 scatter your fears, put sorrow to flight,
 so bury your feelings or flail in fury,
 the Almighty alone is judge and jury.â
VII
31
W ith judicious words I said to my jewel:
‘Let there be no offence to my Lord
if I rage and rave with spluttering speech.
But my heart is heavy and talk rushes headlong
like water from a spring, surging and spewing.
I fall on His mercy, this moment and for ever.
Never reproach me with wounding words
despite my errors, my gilded angel,
but kindly offer your consolations.
Be caring and thoughtful and recall this:
you who paired me with painful despair
were the bedrock on which my bliss was built.
Â
32
âMy bliss and my grief â you have been both â
 but my grief has been the greater by far.
 Since you were exiled from earthly care
 I could not guess where my pearl had gone,
 but seeing it again my sorrow subsides.
 Once in harmony, we were torn in half;
 may God forbid we be broken again,
 we so seldom meet by tree or stone!
 Though your conversation with me is courteous
 I lack all manners and am little more than dust.
 Let the mercy of Christ and Mary and John
 be the base on which I build my bliss.
Â
33
âYou stand before me in a blissful state,
 and myself a demoralised, mournful man.
 You appear to notice nothing of this,
 though I suffer greatly from searing sadness.
 But since you appear in my presence here
 I ask you to say, without argument,
 and to answer my question with hand on heart,
 what life you lead through dawn and dusk.
 My spirit soars, knowing your position
 is one of worth and high honour,
 for this is the ground and this the gate
 by which the road to my blissfulness runs.â
Â
34
âMay bliss find and follow you, sir,â
 said that figure of lovely limb and face.
âYou are welcome to walk and wait in this place,
 for now your speech is pleasing to hear.
 Arrogant attitude and haughty pride,
 I have to tell you, are detested here.
 My Lord has no liking of lifeâs complainers
 and only the humble find a home in His house.
 When you come to rest at last in His realm
 be deeply devout and meek in demeanour.
 My Lord the Lamb, who loves such a manner,
 is the rock on which my blissfulness rests.
Â
35
âYou say I lead a blissful life
 and wonder at such an exalted existence.
 As you know full well, when your pearl fell
 I was young in years and innocent at heart.
 But my Lord the Lamb by divine love
 brought me to marriage and made me His bride,
 crowned me His queen to bloom in blessedness
 today and tomorrow, till eternity.
 His honour and heritage I have inherited;
 I am wholly His and His alone.
 His grace, His nobility and family line
 are the root and branch of all my bliss.â
VIII
36
‘M y
Readers choose
J. S. Scott
Boyd Morrison
April Bowles
Michael J Wormald
Scarlett Rhone
Allen Zadoff
Tea Cooper
Jane Isaac
Christine Bell