Lost Humbert Wolfe poem comes to light
Categories: Jewish Heritage Walks
The great niece of the Bradford poet Humbert Wolfe has brought to our attention a poem by him which has not been officially published in any of his poetry books. Marie Padgett, of Morcambe has donated copies of historic newspaper articles and a rare family portrait of Humbert and his siblings from 1893, and another of their mother Consola.
Here it appears in print for the first time in over 70 years. It was first made public in the days after his death in within monthe of the outbreak of the Second World War, when the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury published it on 5th January 1940.
A Poem by Humbert Wolfe
This is a hitherto unpublished poem by Humbert Wolfe, the Bradford poet who died on Friday. It was specially written for the recent dinner given by the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning in support of the work for exiled scholars and scientists at the Hebrew university. The Archbishop of York presided at the dinner, and the poet himself read these verses on “Jerusalem University”.—
God bade them build a Temple and behold!
the Temple stood,
And God looked on His Temple and He found His Temple good.
And Law and Truth and Learning were followed where men strove To reach the peaks of wisdom along the paths of Love.
But presently the devil came, and whispered in their ear:
“Here is the apple. Bite on it! Never fear!
“You will run so swiftly that, where the others plod,
“You will reach, and overtake, the mysteries of God!”
But God leaned from His heaven in the likeness of a flame,
Mourning for His people and behold the Romans came!
The temple lay in ashes and the Jews were scattered wide,
And what it stood for perishe
—but Zion has not died.
Somewhere in Jerusalem where Titus storms in vain
The Temple God commanded is risen up again.
And Law and Truth and Learning are followed while men strive
To keep the Soul of Israel and the love of God alive.
Law and Truth and Learning — O God lean down to them.
These are your people — and this Jerusalem.
Humbert Wolfe
Yorkshire Post & Leeds Mercury 5-1-1940
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