TO A WATERFOWL All day thy wings have fanned, And soon that toil shall end; Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest, And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend Soon o'er thy sheltered nest. Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart. He who from zone to zone Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright. William Cullen Bryant. HE LEADS US ON He leads us on By paths we did not know; Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow, Though oft we faint and falter on the way, Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day, Yet when the clouds are gone We know He leads us on. He leads us on Through all the unquiet years; Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts, and fears He guides our steps. Through all the tangled maze Of sin, of sorrow, and o'erclouded days We know His will is done; And still He leads us on. And He, at last, After the weary strife After the restless fever we call life HE LEADS US ON After the dreariness, the aching pain, The wayward struggles which have proved in vain, After our toils are past— Will give us rest at last. Unknown. 16 "SPEAK THOU, AVAILING CHRIST " WHEN Some beloved voice that was to you Nor reason's subtle count! Not melody trees To the clear moon: nor yet the spheric laws Self-chanted, nor the angels' sweet All hails, Met in the smile of God. Nay, none of these. Speak THOU, availing Christ! and fill this pause. Elizabeth Barrett Browning. "OUR COURSE IS ONWARD" OUR course is onward, onward into light: How tarry, when around us is thick night? And wholesome dews of heaven our foreheads lave, The darkness lighten more, till full of awe We stand in the open sunshine-unaware. Richard Chenevix Trench. |