Abou Ben
Adhem
By Leigh Hunt
Abou Ben
Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one
night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw,
within the moonlight in his room,
Making it
rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel
writing in a book of gold:—
Exceeding
peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the
presence in the room he said,
"What
writest thou?"—The vision raised its head,
And with a
look made of all sweet accord,
Answered,
"The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is
mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the
angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly
still; and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as
one that loves his fellow men."
The
angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again
with a great wakening light,
And showed
the names whom love of God had blest,
And lo! Ben
Adhem's name led all the rest.
Riverwatch
