TRUE

Their illumination constrained
To the sparks they had kindled
Men lay in sorrow: when
Christ came they preferred
The flickering of their caves
Yet we can know in its brightness
The pure illumination
Of the true Light.

A faithful Creator provided
Food for the journey:
They ate, and lived, and died.
But now the Father gives,
As a spiritual reality
For lasting life, lasting substance
And lasting satisfaction
The true Bread.

Once on a fruitful hill,
Dug and relieved of stones,
Was planted that unsatisfactory vine,
Israel, bearer of wild grapes;
Now He stands, to God's satisfaction,
Without earthly moisture,
Clusters ripening into grapes,
Christ, the true Vine.

Blind, and unaware
Of poverty and nakedness,
How could Laodicea give
Testimony? The source of eye-salve,
Of gold and garments speaks:
What words the Amen asserts!
What can He not introduce,
The faithful and true Witness?

What dignity He has
The reality of every type,
The One who supersedes every
Shadow. Who has the right
To the key of David - who
Maintains everything for God,
But the One who can call Himself
The holy, the true?