O GOD! if this indeed be all That life can show to me; If on my aching brow may fall No freshening dew from Thee; If with no brighter light than this The lamp of hope may glow, And I may only dream of bliss, And wake to weary woe; If friendship's solace must decay, When other joys are gone, And love must keep so far away, While I go wandering on, -- Wandering and toiling without gain, The slave of others' will, With constant care and frequent pain, Despised, forgotten still; Grieving to look on vice and sin, Yet powerless to quell The silent current from within, The outward torrent's swell; While all the good I would impart, The feelings I would share, Are driven backward to my heart, And turned to wormwood there; If clouds must ever keep from sight The glories of the Sun, And I must suffer Winter's blight, Ere Summer is begun: If Life must be so full of care -- Then call me soon to Thee; Or give me strength enough to bear My load of misery! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE WIZARD IN WORDS by MARIANNE MOORE TROILUS AND CRESSIDA: SONG by JOHN DRYDEN ALNWICK CASTLE by FITZ-GREENE HALLECK A SHROPSHIRE LAD: 15 by ALFRED EDWARD HOUSMAN EPILOGUE TO THE SATIRES: DIALOGUE 1 by ALEXANDER POPE FACADE: 27. WHEN SIR BEELZEBUB by EDITH SITWELL |