'Tis human lot to meet and bear The common ills of human life; There's not a breast but hath its share Of bitter pain, and vexing strife. The peasant in his lowly shed; The noble 'neath a gilded dome: Each will at some time bow his head, And ask and hope, " Thy kingdom come!" When some deep sorrow, surely slow, Despoils the cheek, and eats the heart, Laying our busy projects low, And bidding all earth's dreams depart- Do we not smile, and calmly turn From the wide world's tumultuous hum, And feel the immortal essence yearn " Rich with the thought, "Thy kingdom come!" The waves of Care may darkly bound And buffet, till, our strength outworn, We stagger as they gather round; All shattered, weak, and tempest torn: But there's a lighthouse for the soul, That beacons to a stormless home; It safely guides through roughest tides- It shines, it saves! "Thy kingdom come!" To gaze upon the loved in death, To mark the closing, beamless eye, To press dear lips, and find no breath- This, this is life's worst agony! But God, too merciful, too wise, To leave the lorn one in despair; Whispers, while snatching those we prize, "My kingdom come!-Ye'll meet them there!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SUMMER NIGHT-BROADWAY by LOUIS UNTERMEYER JOHN BARLEYCORN by ROBERT BURNS A SEA STORY by EMILY HENRIETTA HICKEY MISS KILMANSEGG AND HER PRECIOUS LEG: HER DEATH by THOMAS HOOD SONNET: 18. ON THE LATE MASSACRE IN PIEDMONT by JOHN MILTON UNDERWOODS: BOOK 1: 25. MOTHER AND SON by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON |