In
the year two hundred and seventy AD.
He
grew up Christian, fearless and bold,
Who
soldiered long years with the Roman army.
His
father, a Turk, died when George was still young
And
his family moved down to Palestine -
To
the town Lydda, or ‘Lod’ as some say
Where his mother hoped life would be fine.
And
it was, for a while, fine and carefree.
Then
young George, just sev’nteen, joined the
military
Becoming
a Tribune, whom everyone could see
Was a gallant young man who showed true bravery.
Now,
There
came a new Roman Emp’ror, Diocletian, by name
Who
oppressed all the Christians and made their lives grim,
And ordered his troops to hunt down and detain,
To torment
and kill, anyone who would not worship him.
George would not obey; could not deny his faith, family or folk.
Though
tortured and maimed and brought home to be shamed,
He
held out, a hero, until in the end
Condemned …
but he never gave up his God.
Condemned. George perished in Lydda (or Lod).
The
executioner cut off his head.
But
legend reports that George would not die
That
his God raised him three times from the dead.
In that bleak, long ago spring; in three hundred and three,
On
the twenty third day of mid April,
George
was struck down, killed, chopped into pieces
Yet reborn, divine, each time in a miracle.
The
executioner’s sword again struck down George
Then
the Emperor’s men burnt his body.
But God once again raised George, alive from the flames, to show doubters
That God,
George’s God, Jesus Christ, was powerful, really true, holy.
Now
a Christian martyr, George’s mortal remains lay
Entombed
in Lydda (or Lod), his home town.
They
brought pilgrims from empires and realms far away
To
pray to this brave soldier of ancient renown.
George,
hearing the prayers, brought their pleas before God
Who
answered each prayer with more miracles.
George’s
fame spread far, to the north, south,
east and the west.
He
soon become ‘Saint’ George, an immortal.
All over Byzantium, and in Western lands too,
Warriors sought and fought under his
protection.
They took his fame home, made his bravery known
And made George their new sainted patron.
The red cross of St George now flies in lands far and wide
As a venerated emblem of nations
Like Ethiopia and Portugal, and England and Greece
And the Aragon-Castilian kingdoms of Spain.
And as his fame grew and grew,
Cities sought safety too 'neath George’s
strong, virtuous shield:
Moscow,
Gozo and Beirut;
Genoa,
Ferrara and Dutch Amersfoort
To name just a well known few.
Whilst in Brazilian towns too St George oft is seen
Parading in African guise,
as the Yoruba god of war and iron, Ogum,
As seen through Christian eyes
The
world over it would seem
Has
been captivated by George, the young, noble tribune
Who
would not succumb to his emperor’s dream
Of
becoming a god. George would not dance to his tune.
George
was humbled and tortured but refused to give in
and worship a man, though offered great riches.
To
worship a mortal was to George a great sin.
So
he died for his faith and inspired ambitious
Soldiers
who followed behind in his military wake
To
be brave, faithful, honourable and take
No comments:
Post a Comment