In the strangest of places

It's favorite poem time, again.

For this one a bit of history is helpful. The Biblical background is the story of Abraham and Isaac, when the angel told Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac on an altar as a test of faith. It's a dramatic story, and it's essential to receive the impact of the poem. If you don't know that story, it's here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=22

Also interesting is the history of the author, Wilfred Owen. He was a British soldier killed at age 25 just at the end of World War I. Most of his poems concern the tragedy of war and were published posthumously.

OK, here's the poem:


The Parable of the Young Man and the Old

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned, both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake, and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
And builded parapets the trenches there,
And stretched forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.
But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.