The Blessing of a King

by Walt Garlington (June 2023)

The Old King, Georges Rouault, 1937

Who is like unto a king,
The living symbol
Of national unity
And sovereignty?
Dark powers have deceived;
Now many monarchs are deceased,
Murdered by disloyal thanes,
Replaced by the dead letter
Of the law, death begetting death.
For the law gives birth to death,
But the Spirit pours forth Life.
And a king anointed
With the holy myrrh
Is a vessel
Of the Holy Ghost,
Given gifts of governing,
Mystically united
With his people through the Grace
Of the sacred oil,
And they with him—
Not two contending
Forces, held in jealous
Tension, but a single
Family, extending
Through the centuries,
Brothers and bairns held
Together by blood, belief,
Suffering, and loyalty.
_
The golden crown
Upon that head
Sheds the radiant
Light of Christ upon the land,
The earthly king
An iconic image
Of Heaven’s King.
_
The Cross is in his hand,
For all who bear the burden
Of authority
Will suffer for the sake
Of those committed to their care.
_
The razor-sharp sword
Rests upon his thigh,
Ready to smite
The fiendish enemy
Though it cost him his life.
_
The poor and helpless
He covers with the cape
Upon his shoulders;
The father will not
Forsake his children.
_
The king binds the nation
To her past; he protects
The present generation;
His sons are the hope
Of the future.
_
Blessèd are they
Who have not renounced
Loyalty to the crown!

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Walt Garlington was born and raised in that part of Dixieland called Louisiana. A chemical engineer by training, he has spent the last several years writing full-time. He has written essays and poems for The Hayride, New English Review, The Tenth Amendment Center, The Abbeville Institute, Reckonin’, Katehon, Geopolitica, and USA Really. He writes regularly at his own web site, Confiteri: A Southern Perspective.

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