I BUILD UPON THIS ROCK

"Upon this rock I build my Church
And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail -!"

Down through the ages
From cantilevered naves,
From spires that touched the sky
These steel bold words
Have thundered forth from fiery throated Prelates
Whose words defy
Satanic offerings.

"Shall not prevail -
Shall not --
The Gates of Hell shall not---!"

But Hell prevailed at Auschwitz
And Sobibor,
At Bergen-Belsen,
And on that attic floor
That overlooked a church
When Anne was taken to the Hunnish baths
And later fed the flames.

Give me not the lamed and weakened phrase,
The meaningless, "God’s Mysterious Ways."
Just this once from your prie-dieus,
Unbend your knees,
Just this once --
Not "Thy Will be done-"
But fling at heaven
This great accusatory tale,
Upon this blighted time Hell did prevail!

George W. Martin