Then the soul of Judas Iscariot
Did make a gentle moan-

"I will bury underneath the ground
My flesh and blood and bone.

"I will bury deep beneath the soil,
Lest mortals look thereon,

And when the wolf and raven come
The body will be gone!

"The stones of the field are sharp as steel,
And hard and bold, God wot;
And I must bear my body hence
Until I find a spot!"

'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
So grim, and gaunt, and gray,
Raised the body of Judas Iscariot,
And carried it away.

And as he bare it from the field
Its touch was cold as ice,
And the ivory teeth within the jaw
Rattled aloud, like dice.

As the soul of Judas Iscariot

Carried its load with pain,

The Eye of Heaven, like a lanthorn's eye, Opened and shut again.

Half he walked, and half he seemed

Lifted on the cold wind;

He did not turn, for chilly hands

Were pushing from behind.

The first place that he came unto
It was the open wold,

And underneath were prickly whins,
And a wind that blew so cold.

The next place that he came unto
It was a stagnant pool,

And when he threw the body in
It floated light as wool.

He drew the body on his back,
And it was dripping chill,

And the next place that he came unto
Was a Cross upon a hill.

A Cross upon the windy hill,
And a Cross on either side,
Three skeletons that swing thereon,
Who had been crucified.

And on the middle cross-bar sat

A white Dove slumbering;

Dim it sat in the dim light,

With its head beneath its wing.

And underneath the middle Cross
A grave yawned wide and vast,
But the soul of Judas Iscariot
Shivered, and glided past.

The fourth place that he came unto
It was the Brig of Dread,
And the great torrents rushing down
Were deep, and swift, and red.

He dared not fling the body in

For fear of faces dim,

And arms were waved in the wild water

To thrust it back to him.

"T was the soul of Judas Iscariot

Turned from the Brig of Dread,

And the dreadful foam of the wild water
Had splashed the body red.

For days and nights he wandered on

Upon an open plain,

And the days went by like blinding mist, And the nights like rushing rain.

For days and nights he wandered on,
All thro' the Wood of Woe;

And the nights went by like moaning wind,
And the days like drifting snow.

'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Came with a weary face-
Alone, alone, and all alone,
Alone in a lonely place!

He wandered east, he wandered west
And heard no human sound;

For months and years, in grief and tears,
He wandered round and round.

For months and years, in grief and tears,
He walked the silent night;

Then the soul of Judas Iscariot
Perceived a far-off light.

A far-off light across the waste,

As dim as dim might be,

That came and went like a lighthouse gleam

On a black night at sea.

'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot

Crawled to the distant gleam;

And the rain came down, and the rain was blown Against him with a scream.

For days and nights he wandered on,

Pushed on by hands behind;

And the days went by like black, black rain,
And the nights like rushing wind.

"T was the soul of Judas Iscariot,
Strange, and sad, and tall,
Stood all alone at dead of night
Before a lighted hall.

And the wold was white with snow,

And his foot-marks black and damp, And the ghost of the silver Moon arose, Holding her yellow lamp.

And the icicles were on the eaves,
And the walls were deep with white,
And the shadows of the guests within
Passed on the window light.

The shadows of the wedding guests
Did strangely come and go,
And the body of Judas Iscariot

Lay stretched along the snow.

The body of Judas Iscariot

Lay stretched along the snow; 'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot Ran swiftly to and fro.

To and fro, and up and down,
He ran so swiftly there,

As round and round the frozen Pole
Glideth the lean white bear.

'T was the Bridegroom sat at the table-head, And the lights burned bright and clear— "Oh, who is that," the Bridegroom said, "Whose weary feet I hear ?"

'T was one looked from the lighted hall, And answered soft and slow,

"It is a wolf runs up and down With a black track in the snow."

The Bridegroom in his robe of white
Sat at the table-head-

"Oh, who is that who moans without?
The blessed Bridegroom said.

"T was one looked from the lighted hall, And answered fierce and low,

""T is the soul of Judas Iscariot Gliding to and fro.”

'T was the soul of Judas Iscariot
Did hush itself and stand,

And saw the Bridegroom at the door
With a light in his hand.