The Best American Spiritual Writing

“For the War Dead” by Sarah Ruden

Rapidly, darkly, all around,
The groves and fields are falling down.

We see it from the yard today:
The land, that’s endless, ebbs away.

We did not dream this could be done.
Relentlessly we loved our son.

Take him along—we look to You.
What can be finished that You do?

It lies on stone—this woods, this hill.
It is as lasting as Your will.

But neither can this be undone:
The sear, our passion for our son.

More books with contributions by Sarah Ruden
Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides

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Abraham's Dice

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Hippias Minor

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Nation and World, Church and God: The Legacy of Garry Wills

Nation and World, Church and God

The Norton Anthology of World Literature

The Norton Anthology of World Literature

Lysistrata

The Art of Comedy

“Where are my laurel leaves?” (Theocritus Idylls 2)

The Greek Poets

Points of Contact: Disability, Art, and Culture

Points of Contact