The Hound of Heaven

FRANCIS THOMPSON 1859-1907 wrote THE HOUND OF HEAVEN.
A complex piece of prose; it was the story of Thompson’s life.  A cocaine addict, failed doctor, broken human, the poem recounts a life on the run from God and God – never abandoning the chase even as Francis seeks shelter in the shallow and the empty.
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.            But with unhurrying chase,            And unperturbed pace,Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,            They beat — and a Voice beat            More instant than the Feet—"All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."

“Bruit”
The name is strange. It startles one at first. It is so bold, so new, so fearless. It does not attract, rather the reverse. But when one reads the poem this strangeness disappears. The meaning is understood. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurrying and impertubed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine grace. And though in sin or in human love, away from God it seeks to hide itself, Divine grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure forcing it to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit.The Neuman Press "Book of Verse", 1988.

FRANCIS THOMPSON     died at the age of 48.  The “Bruit” won so Francis Thompson indeed  Rest In Peace.