II
Oh, import deep as life is, deep as time!
There is a Something sacred and sublime,
Moving behind the worlds, beyond our ken,
Weighing the stars, weighing the deeds of men.
Take heart, O soul of sorrow, and be strong:
There is One greater than the whole world’s wrong.
Be hushed before the high benignant Power
That goes untarrying to the reckoning hour.
O men that forge the fetter, it is vain:
There is a Still Hand stronger than your chain.
‘Tis no avail to bargain, sneer, and nod,
And shrug the shoulder for reply to God.
October, 1899.