Poem by Gilbert Keith Chesterton

The Donkey

When fishes flew and forests walked   
   And figs grew upon thorn,   
Some moment when the moon was blood   
   Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry
   And ears like errant wings,   
The devil’s walking parody   
   On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
   Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,   
   I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
   One far fierce hour and sweet:   
There was a shout about my ears,
   And palms before my feet. 

1. Blessed Are the Peacemakers
2. The March of the Black Mountain
3. The Crusader Returns from Captivity
4. To M. E. W.
5. Glencoe

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