THE ARROW AND THE SONG
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I know not where!
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
—Longfellow.
"The summer vanishes, but soon shall come
The glad young days of yet another year.
So do not mourn the passing of a joy,
But rather wait the coming of a good,
And know God never takes a gift away
But He sends other gifts to take its place."
COURAGE
What if the morn no joy to you shall bring,
No gleam of sunbeam shine across your way;
What if no bird one joyous note shall sing
Into your listening ear through all the day!
What if no word of comfort you shall hear
As through the hours long you toil and strive;
What if to you no vision bright appear
To keep your hungry heart and soul alive!
What if the blest companionship men crave
Come not to you through all the day's long length,
But, bound and fettered even as a slave
Within yourself you have to find your strength!
And if, when you have toiled and wrought alone,
The sweet reward you sought you do not gain,
And find the hoped-for bread is but a stone,
In that sad hour for grief, should you complain?