IN calm and cool and silence, once again I find my old accustomed place among My brethren, where, perchance, no human tongue Shall utter words; where never hymn is sung, Nor deep-toned organ blown, nor censer swung, Nor dim light falling through the pictured pane! There, syllabled by silence, let me hear The still small voice which reached the prophet's ear; Read in my heart a still diviner law Than Israel's leader on his tables saw! There let me strive with each besetting sin, Recall my wandering fancies, and restrain The sore disquiet of a restless brain; And, as the path of duty is made plain, May grace be given that I may walk therein, Not like the hireling, for his selfish gain, With backward glances and reluctant tread, Making a merit of his coward dread, But, cheerful, in the light around me thrown, Walking as one to pleasant service led; Doing God's will as if it were my own, Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BATTLE AUTUMN OF 1862 by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER THE MORAL FABLES: THE TALE OF THE COCK, AND THE JEWEL by AESOP PERSISTENCY OF POETRY by MATTHEW ARNOLD HOW DOES THE RAIN COME? by CHARLES ROLLIN BALLARD ADDRESS TO THE SHADE OF THOMSON THE POET by ROBERT BURNS A PRELUDE by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON |