I said to the Man...

 I said to the Man...

Barbara Thomas 

• I SAID TO THE MAN WHO STOOD AT THE GATE
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• GIVE ME A LIGHT THAT I MIGHT TREAD SAFELY INTO THE UNKNOWN
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• AND HE REPLIED “GO OUT INTO THE DARKNESS  AND PUT YOUR HAND INTO THE HAND OF GOD
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• THAT SHALL BE BETTER THAN LIGHT AND SAFER THAN A KNOWN WAY”
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• SO I WENT FORWARD HOLDING THE HAND OF GOD, TROD GLADLY INTO THE NIGHT.
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• AND HE LED ME TOWARDS THE HILLS AND THE BREAKING OF DAY IN THE LOVE OF THE EAST.

 

This poem was written by

Minnie Louise Haskins ~  1875-1957

 

What is very interesting is the poem

was spoken by King George VI in his Christmas 1939 broadcast to the Empire, these words struck a cord with a country facing the uncertainty of War.

 

The words were also inscribed at the entrance of the George VI Memorial Chapel, in St George’s Chapel in Windsor plus in the window at the Queen’s Chapel at the Savoy, Tunbridge Wells in 1957.

 

This poem was used at the funeral of Elizabeth, the Queen Mother in 2002

 

And what did the poem mean.

Believe in God

Tread softly into the unknown

I can relate to this as I pack-up all my belongings to a place I don’t know and never ever been there leaving the safe peaceful countryside, straight into a busy London Borough and just trusting  my faith that he will help me into the unknown.

 

Barbara Thomas  22.12.2025