Home > Author > Thomas Merton >

" Sweet brother, if I do not sleep
My eyes are flowers for your tomb;
And if I cannot eat my bread,
My fasts shall live like willows where you died.
If in the beat I find no water for my thirst,
My thirst shall turn to springs for you, poor traveller Where, in what desolate and smokey country,
Lies your poor body, lost and dead?
And in what landscape of disaster
Has your unhappy spirit lost its road? Come, in my labor find a resting place
And in my sorrows lay your head,
Or rather take my life and blood
And buy yourself a better bed—
Or take my breath and take my death
And buy yourself a better rest. "

Thomas Merton , The Seven Storey Mountain


Image for Quotes

Thomas Merton quote : Sweet brother, if I do not sleep<br />My eyes are flowers for your tomb;<br />And if I cannot eat my bread,<br />My fasts shall live like willows where you died.<br />If in the beat I find no water for my thirst,<br />My thirst shall turn to springs for you, poor traveller Where, in what desolate and smokey country,<br />Lies your poor body, lost and dead?<br />And in what landscape of disaster<br />Has your unhappy spirit lost its road? Come, in my labor find a resting place<br />And in my sorrows lay your head,<br />Or rather take my life and blood<br />And buy yourself a better bed—<br />Or take my breath and take my death<br />And buy yourself a better rest.