Christina Rossetti Sonnett

Many years ago, I ran across a Sierra Club poster that had the first three sentences of this poem on it.  I memorized the words because it struck me.  I was overjoyed to find there was more to the poem!  Read below:

Tread softly! all the earth is holy ground.
        It may be, could we look with seeing eyes,
        This spot we stand on is a Paradise
Where dead have come to life and lost been found,
Where Faith has triumphed, Martyrdom been crowned,
        Where fools have foiled the wisdom of the wise;
        From this same spot the dust of saints may rise,
And the King's prisoners come to light unbound.
O earth, earth, earth, hear thou thy Maker's Word:
        "Thy dead thou shalt give up, nor hide thy slain"--
        Some who went weeping forth shall come again
                Rejoicing from the east or from the west,
As doves fly to their windows, love's own bird
        Contented and desirous to the nest.

- Christina Rossetti