"This poem was written in 1908 by Minnie Louise Haskins, an American
lecturer at the London School of Economics, who wrote as a hobby. It
was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth the late Queen Mother, who showed
it to her husband King George VI. He included it in his famous
Christmas message broadcast in 1939 at the beginning of the Second
World War. After the King's death the Queen Mother had it engraved on
bronze plaques on the entrance to the King George VI Memorial Chapel,
Windsor, where both are now interred. It was also read at the funeral
service of the Queen Mother.
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'
And he replied, 'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'
So I went forth and finding the Hand of God
Trod gladly into the night
He led me towards the hills
And the breaking of day in the lone east.
So heart be still!
What need our human life to know
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife of things
Both high and low,
God hideth his intention."
Your Path to Transition - Piers Clement: The gate of the year
http://www.geocities.com/piers_clement/gate.html
Similarly here:
Poetic Expressions: The Gate of the Year
http://www.poeticexpressions.co.uk/POEMS/Gate%20of%20the_year.htm
Bates Line: Safer Than a Known Way
http://www.batesline.com/archives/000540.html
A bit of background on the poet and the poem:
"Born on 12 May 1875, Minnie Louise Haskins... was a popular member of
LSE [London School of Economics and Political Science], retiring in
1939 but then reappointed a year later to continue until 1944...
She penned The Gate of the Year in 1908. It was privately printed and
circulated in a volume called The Desert... The Gate of the Year
caught the public interest when it was read to the nation by King
George VI soon after the outbreak of the Second World War. She was
reportedly profoundly astonished to hear her poem being read by the
King in his Christmas broadcast of 1939, and, according to LSE
records, gave royalties earned from subsequent interest in the poem to
charity. According to press reports, it was HM Queen Elizabeth The
Queen Mother who first introduced the poem to the King.
The Gate of the Year by Minnie Louise Haskins [was] read at The Queen
Mother's funeral on Tuesday 9 April [2002]."
London School of Economics and Political Science: Minnie Louise Haskins (1875-1957)
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/newsAndEvents/archives/2000-2002/Minnie_Louise_Haskins.htm
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: haskins "the gate of the year"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=haskins+%22the+gate+of+the+year%22
I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear, or if a link doesn't
work for you, please request clarification; I'll be glad to offer
further assistance before you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
