St. Christopher

Carry me, Ferryman, over the ford.'
'My boat is my back, little boy. Come aboard,
Some men have muscle and some men have mind,
And my strength is my gift for the good of mankind?

'Shall I not weight on you crossint the ford?'
'I ve carried a king with his crown and his sword,
A labourer too with his spade and his plough;
What's a mere child to me? Come along now'.

'Ferryman, why do you pant in the ford?'
'My muscles are iron, my sinews are cord,
But my back with your burden is ready to break,
You double your weight, child, with each step I take!'

'Ferryman, bearer of men o'er the ford,
Christopher, Christopher, I am your Lord;
My frame may be little and slender my girth,
But they hold all the sorrows and sins of the earth.

You have borne the whole world on your back, through the ford
You have carried a King with His crown and His sword
A Labourer too with His spade and His plough,
And in one Child all little ones. Put me down now.'

Christopher set the Child down on the sward,
Christopher fell on his face by the ford;
He heard a voice uttering; 'Keep Me in mind!
Our strength is our gift for the good of mankind'.