Another Poem

If Everything Is Lost

If everything is lost, thanks be to God
If I must see it go, watch it go,
Watch it fade away, die
Thanks be to God that He is all I have
And if I have Him not, I have nothing at all
Nothing at all, only a farewell to the wind
Farewell to the gray sky
Goodbye, God be with you evening October skye.
If all is lost, thanks be to God
For He is He, and I, I am only I.

- Dom Julian OSB, in a Severe Mercy

Another poem here sent to me by a good friend, who shared that this is one of her favorites. It's worth moving from my comments into my main blog. I remember this poem from reading a Severe Mercy, but had forgotten it until my friend reminded me of it. It's written on the death of Sheldon Vanauken's wife, which C.S. Lewis dubbed a "severe mercy" since she offered her life up on behalf of the salvation of her husband. Powerful stuff.