Who, now, shall open the closed book?
Who shall make the first cut in unbroken
time? Turning from dawn to dawn,
lifting the pages and letting them fall.
Which of us shall dare reach into
the flames of the Hidden? Who shall dare grope
among the dense leaves of the sealed book?
And how shall he dare, with his bare hand?
Which of us is without fear? Who would not fear
when even God's eyes shut
and all the angels fall flat
and every creature darkens?
Among us, only the Lamb has no fear.
Him alone, the Lamb who was killed.
And he is jogging along on the sea of glass.
He climbs up on to the throne. He opens the book.
Ted Hughes and
