There must be something after all this woe,
A sweet fruition from the harrowed past;
Rest some day for this pacing to and fro;
A tender sunbeam and dear flowers at last.
There will be something when these days are done,
Something more fair by far than starry nights —
A prospect limitless, as one by one
Embodied castles crown the airy heights.
So cheer up, heart, and for that morrow wait!
Dream what you will, but press toward the dream;
Let fancy guide dull effort through the gate,
And face the current, would she cross the stream.
Then when that something lies athwart the way —
Coming unsought as good things seem to do —
'Twill prove beneath the flush of setting day
A nobler meed than now would beckon you.
For lifted up by constant, forward strife,
Hope will attain so marvellous a height,
There can be nothing found within this life
After the day to form a fitting night.
So heaven alone shall ever satisfy,
And God's own light be ever light enough
To guide the purified, ennobled eye
Toward the smooth which lies beyond the rough.
There will be something when these clouds skim by —
A bounteous yielding from the fruitful past;
Sweet peace and rest upon the pathway lie,
E'en though but death and flowers at the last.
