New music – Death Be Not Proud

As we move into the season of Lent this coming week and ponder the mysteries of our longings and fallibility, of Jesus’ willingness to be falsely accused and unjustly executed, of his final victory over darkness and death and what that means to us…I offer this piano setting of a poem I wrote based on John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 10, known for it’s opening line “Death be not proud”.

Grace and peace to you…

dw

Death be Not Proud (based on John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 10)

Death be not proud.
Though you claim the life of child and king,
Though you harvest every living thing,
You but store our dust, no more,
And even this you borrow.

You take away,
You take away a parent’s warm embrace,
You take a young one’s shining face,
But through your door lies evermore
A pure and bright tomorrow.

You give us wings:
From your cold embrace we fly away,
And our soaring flight ends in Paradise,
Where there’s no pain, no fear, no sorrow.

(Instrumental verse)

Jesus came to save us,
Radiant life he gave us,
Though he lay with you a day
He rose up to the sky.
Death, your day will come to die.

dw – 10 Feb 2018