The Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson (read by Tom O'Bedlam)

This is a very famous poem that has had much influence. There's a famous reading by Richard Burton here: • Richard Burton reads t...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Houn...
The painting is Light of the World by William Holman Hunt
I FLED Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat-and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet-
‘All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.’
I pleaded, outlaw-wise,
By many a hearted casement, curtained red,
Trellised with intertwining charities;
(For, though I knew His love Who followèd,
Yet was I sore adread
Lest, having Him, I must have naught beside).
But, if one little casement parted wide,
The gust of His approach would clash it to.
Fear wist not to evade, as Love wist to pursue.
Across the margent of the world I fled,
And troubled the gold gateways of the stars,
Smiting for shelter on their clangèd bars;
Fretted to dulcet jars
And silvern chatter the pale ports o’ the moon.
I said to Dawn: Be sudden-to Eve: Be soon;
With thy young skiey blossoms heap me over
From this tremendous Lover-
Float thy vague veil about me, lest He see!
I tempted all His servitors, but to find
My own betrayal in their constancy,
In faith to Him their fickleness to me,
Their traitorous trueness, and their loyal deceit.
To all swift things for swiftness did I sue;
Clung to the whistling mane of every wind.
But whether they swept, smoothly fleet,
The long savannahs of the blue;
Or whether, Thunder-driven,
They clanged his chariot ’thwart a heaven,
Plashy with flying lightnings round the spurn o’ their feet:-
Fear wist not to evade as Love wist to pursue.
Still with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
Came on the following Feet,
And a Voice above their beat-
"Naught shelters thee, who wilt not shelter Me.’
- and more - too much to print here

[@reaganwiles_art]

An anonymous steward, some generous townsperson, sent this poem to me in a small, self-contained paper volume while I was in jail, again, and included a book of stamps neither of which was I allowed to have; a jailer gave me the stamps but I had to wait until my release to receive the book. I got high and read it while sitting out on the terrace of a cafe and promptly lost it somewhere, and soon landed back in jail ... I had always assumed this would be a Hallmark kind of poem and was surprised by its profundity, more by its excellence as a poem, a great poem. I have not read it again but I will, given time and opportunity.

[@johntatum1951]

what a great poem...so glad the Hound of Heaven finally caught up with me when I was sadly lost in college....at last, I came home to Jesus Christ.

[@joemay20]

Simply Great about GOD

[@robertlehnert4148]

This poem was part of the conversion story of Dorothy Day, when she was a radical Bohemian and atheist, and heard this recited at a party, by of all people, Eugene O'Neill. Later, in the late 50s, Day heard O'Neill was dying, and she was the one who called a priest to try to get the long apostate back.

[@christinekent140]

I love this so much . so beautiful . such a great poem filled with truth

[@gabesmokeymartatom]

this is the most excellent reading of this poem that i’ve heard. bravo!

[@robertpoetprince7362]

Now this is Francis Thompson------as it should be read.

[@catherinefitzpatrick9144]

'Twas my first time hearing The Hound of Heaven, ever. Thank you Tom for generously donating your $(on equipment, I'm sure), time, voice, skill, talent, and effort; you've helped turn my fear of poetry into an appreciation of poetry in a single reading. I can't wait till I've heard and learned enough to LOVE Poetry. I'm going to keep listening...

[@ichthus1890]

My favorite. Thanks

[@lordlightning2339]

Eloquent and exceptional!

[@fidelity52]

A stately and impressive reading with good pacing. Far superior to the Richard Burton version. There are a few small flaws which irritate one who has known this masterpiece for years, but overall a fine job.

[@gareth242000]

my favourite version great stuff