Poem: Peace

Mosaic from the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul - Courtesy of Wikipedia  Peace is by the Welch physician, author, and poet, Henry Vaughan (1621-1695). It was first published in his 1650 collection: Silex Scintillans (The Flaming Flint) and is included in the Poems for All Seasons Appendix of the Divine Office (1974). ReadingPEACE by Henry Vaughan, 1650 (Public Domain) My soul, there is a country     Far beyond the stars,Where stands a wingèd sentry     All skillful in the wars :There, above noise and danger,     Sweet Peace sits crown'd with smiles,And One born in a manger     Commands the beauteous files.He is thy gracious Friend,     And—O my soul awake !—Did in pure love descend,     To die here for thy sake.If thou canst get but thither,     There grows the flower of Peace,The Rose that cannot wither,     Thy fortress, and thy ease.Leave then thy foolish ranges ;     For none can thee secure,But One, who never changes,     Thy God, thy life, thy cure.