Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul Part 53

Few, light, and worthless--yet their trifling weight Through all my frame a weary aching leaves; For long I struggled with my hapless fate, And stayed and toiled till it was dark and late-- Yet these are all my sheaves.

Full well I know I have more tares than wheat, Brambles and flowers, dry stalks and withered leaves; Wherefore I blush and weep as at thy feet I kneel down reverently and repeat, "Master, behold my sheaves!"

I know these blossoms cl.u.s.tering heavily, With evening dew upon their folded leaves, Can claim no value or utility-- Therefore shall fragrancy and beauty be The glory of my sheaves.

So do I gather strength and hope anew; For well I know thy patient love perceives Not what I did, but what I strove to do, And though the full ripe ears be sadly few Thou wilt accept my sheaves.

--Elizabeth Akers.

I pray not that Men tremble at My power of place, And lordly sway; I only pray for simple grace To look my neighbor in the face Full honestly from day to day.

--James Whitcomb Riley.

If thou art blest, Then let the suns.h.i.+ne of thy gladness rest On the dark edges of each cloud that lies Black in thy brother's skies.

If thou art sad, Still be in thy brother's gladness glad.

--Hamilton.

Flower in the crannied wall, I pluck you out of the crannies, I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, Little flower--but if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what G.o.d and man is.

--Alfred Tennyson.

Praise not thy work, but let thy work praise thee; For deeds, not words, make each man's memory stable.

If what thou dost is good, its good all men will see; Musk by its smell is known, not by its label.

When thou art fain to trace a map of thine own heart, An undiscovered land set down the largest part.

--Richard Chenevix Trench.

Patient, resigned and humble wills Impregnably resist all ills.

--Thomas Ken.

He is one to whom Long patience hath such mild composure given, That patience now doth seem a thing of which He hath no need.

--William Wordsworth.

Be not too ready to condemn The wrong thy brothers may have done: Ere ye too harshly censure them For human faults, ask, "Have I none?"

--Eliza Cook.

Search thine own heart. What paineth thee In others in thyself may be; All dust is frail, all flesh is weak; Be thou the true man thou dost seek.

--John Greenleaf Whittier.

Through wish, resolve, and act, our will Is moved by undreamed forces still; And no man measures in advance His strength with untried circ.u.mstance.

--John Greenleaf Whittier.

Labor with what zeal we will, Something still remains undone.

Something uncompleted still Waits the rising of the sun.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

In the deed that no man knoweth, Where no praiseful trumpet bloweth, Where he may not reap who soweth, There, Lord, let my heart serve thee.

O wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!

It wad frae mony a blunder free us, An' foolish notion.

--Robert Burns.

CONTENTMENT

RESIGNATION, PATIENCE, COMPENSATION

CONTENTMENT

Father, I know that all my life Is portioned out for me, And the changes that are sure to come I do not fear to see; I ask Thee for a patient mind, Intent on pleasing thee.

I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, Through constant watching wise, To meet the glad with joyful smiles, And wipe the weeping eyes, And a heart, at leisure from itself, To soothe and sympathize.

I would not have the restless will That hurries to and fro, Seeking for some great thing to do, Or secret thing to know; I would be treated as a child, And _guided_ where I go.

Wherever in this world I am, In whatsoe'er estate, I have a fellows.h.i.+p with hearts To keep and cultivate, And a work of lowly love to do For the Lord on whom I wait.

So I ask Thee for the daily strength-- To none that ask denied-- And a mind to blend with outward life, While keeping at thy side, Content to fill a _little_ s.p.a.ce, If thou be glorified.

And if some things I do not ask In my cup of blessing be, I would have my spirit filled the more With grateful love to thee; More careful not to serve thee much, But to please thee perfectly.

There are briers besetting every path, Which call for constant care; There is a cross in every lot, And an earnest need for prayer; But a lowly heart, that leans on Thee, Is happy everywhere.

In a service which Thy love appoints There are no bonds for me, For my secret heart has learned the truth Which makes thy children free, And a life of self-renouncing love Is a life of liberty.