Sometimes a single hour Rings thro' a long life-time, As from a temple tower There often falls a chime From blessed bells, that seems To fold in Heaven's dreams Our spirits round a shrine; Hath such an hour been thine? Sometimes -- who knoweth why? One minute holds a power That shadows every hour, Dialed in life's sky. A cloud that is a speck When seen from far away May be a storm, and wreck The joys of every day. Sometimes -- it seems not much, 'Tis scarcely felt at all -- Grace gives a gentle touch To hearts for once and all, Which in the spirit's strife May all unnoticed be. And yet it rules a life; Hath this e'er come to thee? Sometimes one little word, Whispered sweet and fleet, That scarcely can be heard, Our ears will sudden meet. And all life's hours along That whisper may vibrate, And, like a wizard's song, Decide our ev'ry fate. Sometimes a sudden look, That falleth from some face, Will steal into each nook Of life, and leave its trace; To haunt us to the last, And sway our ev'ry will Thro' all the days to be, For goodness or for ill; Hath this e'er come to thee? Sometimes one minute folds The hearts of all the years, Just like the heart that holds The Infinite in tears; There be such thing as this -- Who knoweth why, or how? A life of woe or bliss Hangs on some little Now. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...OCTAVES: 12 by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE CRY OF THE HUMAN by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING ON THE MARRIAGE OF A BEAUTEOUS YOUNG GENTLEWOMAN WITH AN ANCIENT MAN by FRANCIS BEAUMONT THE LAST MAN: LIFE'S UNCERTAINTY by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES PSALM 109 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE A VERMONT BREAKFAST by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY THE CANTERBURY TALES: THE FRANKLIN'S TALE by GEOFFREY CHAUCER TO A LADY, WHO SINGING RESEMBLED THAT OF AN ABSENT SISTER by LUCRETIA MARIA DAVIDSON |