HOPE

I have a hope—’tis spirit-born

And spirit-winged beside;

’Tis like the holy light of morn

When Heaven opens wide.

Hope like the bird whose every note

A loving Father’s hand

Hath tuned within its swelling throat

As though the song were planned!

What is it but the joyous sense

Of love and harmony?

What is it but the evidence

Of life’s divinity?

That hope which makes us most divine

And like to what it clings—

That hope which makes our hearts incline

To higher, holier things—

That hope which spells eternal youth

And goodness infinite—

Hath reason in it strong as truth

And logical as light.