Easter Day by Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti's Verses is like prayer book all it's own, with poems for most occasions. I should have started reading it through during Lent. Here is her poem for Easter Sunday.

Picture from here.

Easter Day

Words cannot utter

   Christ his returning:

Mankind, keep jubilee,

   Strip off your mourning,

Crown you with garlands,

   Set your lamps burning.

Speech is left speechless;

   Set you to singing,

Fling your hearts open wide,

   Set your bells ringing:

Christ the Chief Reaper

   Comes, His sheaf bringing.

Earth wakes her song-birds,

   Puts on her flowers,

Leads out her lambkins,

   Builds up her bowers:

This is man’s spousal day,

   Christ’s day and ours.

~Christina Rossetti