STRIVE; yet I do not promise The prize you dream of to-day Will not fade when you think to grasp it, And melt in your hand away; But another and holier treasure, You would now perchance disdain, Will come when your toil is over, And pay you for all your pain. Wait; yet I do not tell you The hour you long for now Will not come with its radiance vanished, And a shadow upon its brow; Yet far through the misty future, With a crown of starry light, An hour of joy you know not Is winging her silent flight. Pray; though the gift you ask for May never comfort your fears, May never repay your pleading, Yet pray, and with hopeful tears; An answer, not that you long for, But diviner, will come one day; Your eyes are too dim to see it, Yet strive, and wait, and pray. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A PORTRAIT OF MY ROOF by JAMES GALVIN SONG TO THE MEN OF ENGLAND by THOMAS CAMPBELL AT THE CLOSED GATE OF JUSTICE by JAMES DAVID CORROTHERS THE LITTLE BEACH BIRD by RICHARD HENRY DANA (1787-1879) LIMERICK by OLIVER BROOK HERFORD ON RECEIVING [THE FIRST] NEWS OF THE WAR by ISAAC ROSENBERG |