“Dear tasks are mine that make the weeks

Too swift in passing, not too slow:

I nurse the rose on faded cheeks,

Bring solace to the homes of woe.

“I hear our vesper anthems swell;

I track the steps of Fast and Feast;

I read old legends treasured well

Of Machabean chief or priest.

“I hear on heights of song and psalm

The storm of God careering by;