A Dream of the Rood - possibly Cynewulf

Hwaet!

I will tell
   The dearest of dreams
That I dreamt at deep midnight
   When mortal men
Were sunk in slumber.
   It seemed to me I saw
A wondrous Tree
   Towering in air,
The most shining of crosses
   Encompassed with light.
A bright beacon, clad in gold
   Jewels adorned it,
Fair at its foot,
   Five more on the crossbeam
Blazing in splendor.
   Throughout all Creation
The Angels of God
   Beheld it shining without shame!
The Holy Spirits gazed
   Upon its gleaming,
As did men on all the Earth
   And through all Creation.
Wondrous was that Tree
   That signaled victory,
And me, a transgressor
   Soiled by sin and shame,
I gazed upon the Rood
   Arrayed in its glory,
Shining in beauty
   And enveloped in gold mail,
The Cross of the Saviour
   Set all about with gems.
But through the gilding
   There gleamed a token
Of the ancient evil
   That is the Sin of Men
Where the Rood on its right
   Once sweat blood.
Chastened and rueful,
   Smitten with terror
By the wonder of this vision,
   I saw the Cross
Swirling with colour
   And varying of raiment.
Now wet and stained
   And leaking with the Blood,
Now bejeweled with gold
   And precious stones.

Then as I lay there,
   Gazing long
Rueful and sad
   On my Saviour’s Tree,
I heard in a dream
   How the Cross addressed me,
The worthiest of woods,
   Speaking thus:

LONG YEARS AGO,
   Yet strong in my memory,
I was felled
   Where I grew at the edge of the forest,
My trunk was severed,
   And I was taken by my enemies
And of me was built a scaffold
   A gallows for rogues.
High on their shoulders they bore me,
   To the top of a hill
And affixed me
   Among an army of foes.
Then I saw the King
   Of all mankind
Making haste
   To mount me.
I could not refuse,
   Nor bend, nor break,
In the face of the Lord,
   Though I felt the very earth
Shudder in fear;
   Though in falling
I could have felled them all.
   The young warrior,
Who was Almighty God,
   Threw off his clothing,
Steadfast and strong,
   And climbed the despised gallows,
Under the scrutiny of many,
   Eager to redeem Mankind.
When He embraced me,
   I trembled in terror,
But I did not dare
   To collapse or fall to earth;
I stood firm.
   Then was I raised as a cross,
Raising up the great King,
   The Lord of the Heavens.
I dared not topple.
   Then my foemen pierced me
With black nails;
   The wounds are yet visible,
Gaping evil gashes.
   I dared injure none,
Though they mocked us both.
   I was wet with Blood
From the Hero’s side
   When He sent forth His spirit.
Much cruelty I beheld on that hill.
   I saw the God of Hosts
Violently racked.
   A black darkness covered
The corpse of the Ruler;
   A gloom, murky beneath the clouds,
Overwhelmed the splendour.
   All the creatures wept,
Lamenting the King’s death:
   Christ was on the Cross.

Then came many men,
   Hurrying from afar
To the Prince. I saw it all.
   I was smitten with sorrow,
But bowed to the hands of men.
   From his grievous torment
They lifted Almighty God.
   The valiants left me
To stand covered in Blood,
   Wounded with prickings.
There they laid Him down,
   For He was weary of limb,
And stood at His head.
   They gazed upon him,
The Lord of Heaven,
   As He lay at rest,
Exhausted by His ordeal.
   They carved him a sepulcher,
From the gleaming rock,
   And therein laid
The Lord of Triumph.
   They sang their mourning
At the coming of evening,
   And wearily turned away
From the glorious Prince.
   There he lay, still
And almost alone.
   There we stood,
Weeping in sorrow
   As the wailing of men
Died away.
   The corpse,
Once the beautiful lodging of life,
   Grew cold.
Then we were lowered to earth,
   A grievous fate indeed.
A pit was dug;
   Therein we were lowered.
Therein was I found
   By the followers of God,
And adorned with treasure
   All silver and gold.

Now, my beloved,
   You may learn of me
The bitter sorrows
   I have borne,
At the hands of evil men.
   The time has come
That all the people of earth
   And of all Creation
Will show me honour
   And bow to this sign.
Upon me, for a time,
   The Son of God once suffered;
Now I tower under Heaven,
   In glory attired,
Bringing healing to all
   That hold me in awe.
Once I was made
   The most cruel of tortures,
Hateful to all.
   Yet I opened for them
The true way of life.
   See now! the Lord of glory,
The Warden of Heaven,
   Then honoured me
As the greatest of trees
   As Almighty God
Once honored his Mother,
   Good Mary herself,
Over all womankind.
   
Now I enjoin you,
   My beloved,
Make plain your Vision
   To the sons of men,
And tell plainly
   Of the Tree of glory
On which God suffered
   For the many sins of man
And that evil that Adam
   Once wrought of old.
Death He suffered
   But our Saviour arose
By virtue of might
   As a help to men.
Ascended he to heaven.
   In time, again,
He shall come to earth
   To seek out mankind,
The Lord Himself
   On the Day of Doom,
Almighty God
   With the angel hosts.
Then will He judge,
   Who has sole power to judge,
To each man according
   As here upon earth
In this fleeting life
   As he shall merit.

None will there be
   who are free from fear
in hearing the words
   which the Wielder shall utter.
He shall ask before many:
   Where is the man
Who would taste bitter death
   as He did on the Tree?
All shall be fearful then,
   and few shall know
what to say unto Christ.
   But none need be fearful
who does bear in his breast
   the noblest of signs,
and every soul
   who walks the earthly path
through the cross shall come
   to the Glory of Heaven,
who would dwell with the Ruler.
   
In happy and ardent spirit
   and with great fortitude,
Companionless, lonely,
   I worshipped the Cross.
My soul was aroused to continue.
   I had endured
many an hour of longing.
   It is the hope of my life
that I may turn
   to this Tree of triumph,
I above all men,
   and do it great honour.
This is the desire of my heart,
   and all my hope
waits on the Cross.
   In this world now
do I have few friends of power;
   they have passed on from here
out of the joys of the world,
   seeking the King of glory,
Dwelling now with the High Father,
   in heaven above,
abiding in rapture.
   Each day do I hope
for the hour when the Lord’s Cross,
   of which on earth
I once had vision,
   from this fleeting life may take me
and convey me to great gladness
   and heavenly bliss,
where the people of God
   are given place at the banquet
in joy everlasting.
   There it will place me
where I may dwell in glory
   knowing bliss with the saints.

May the Lord be gracious
   who once on earth
suffered on the Cross
   for the sins of men,
redeeming us, endowed us with life
   and a home in heaven.
Thus was hope renewed
   with blessing and bliss
For those who suffered the burning.
   In that great deed
God’s Son was triumphant,
   in great power and strength!
Almighty, ruling alone,
   He came to the kingdom of God
conveying a host of souls
   to angelic bliss,
to join there the saints
   who once dwelt in the splendor of glory,
when their Ruler, Almighty God,
   came again to His throne.