Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

I Said to the Man who Stood at the Gate of the Year

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I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’

And he replied,

‘Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!’

                                                                                                                       * * *

King George VI ended his famous 1939 Christmas message with these words. (Listen here.)

They were written by an unknown poet called Minnie Haskell. She wasn’t credited.

“I read the quotation in a summary of the speech,” she told The Daily Telegraph the following day. “I thought the words sounded familiar and suddenly it dawned on me that they were out of my little book.”

Minnie Haskell published 3 books, none of which were successful. Sadly, even the rest of this poem was not particularly good.

* * *

A lifetime of writing, and you are remembered for 4 lines.

Success or failure?

Success or failure?

* * *

 If you are a writer or an artist and say, “failure,” well, you are in trouble.

Because there is something mysterious about art.

Art is the spark

From stoniest flint

That sings

In the dark and cold, I’m light.

The craft can be learned by study and practice, but the spark in art which speaks to other people–that is a gift from God. It cannot be learned or simulated.

And we, ultimately, cannot control whether our work has that spark that will live longer than we do.

All we can do is tell the truth, as beautifully as we can.

* * *

And that is why these four lines, which are all that Minnie Haskell is remembered for, are apt as we enter a new year we cannot control.

‘Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!’

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  1. I read your article about why you are no longer a Catholic and the boredom you felt at Mass and saying the Rosary. Many of the things we do in life are boring – sweeping the yard, filling the car with petrol, commuting to work, making sandwiches for the kids…Where would the world be if we gave up doing everything that we found boring? Sometimes when we keep doing the boring things we become very good at them and begin to enjoy them eg making sandwiches or saying the Rosary! It saddens me to see an intelligent and articulate woman like you give up the wonderful richness and diversity of Catholicism

    • Hi Owen, thank you for reading and commenting.
      There is no intrinsic or scriptural value in saying the rosary. Why not do something with scriptural basis–like reading the Bible, or prayer from the heart and have that become sweet through practice?

  2. The words of this obscure poet ring true in my experience. Minnie Haskell had no thought of success but she published anyway and her few lines of poetry impacted royalty. This would be highly successful in my eyes and in the eyes of the Lord. So I continue to write with no expectation of publishing anything noteworthy, but only to honor and glorify the Lord. I am blessed to have a group of women who help me rephrase, edit and hone my words. This year I seek to continue and persevere in my writing endeavors. Who knows what the future holds, but I know the One who holds the future.

  4. Great post.
    Did you know the poem was given to the King by the late Queen Mother, who also requested the same words as part of her funeral service. Truly she was a woman of God.