Page:Poems Clark.djvu/11

BY FAITH, NOT SIGHT

Father, the way is dark,
 I cannot see,—
A starless night hangs low,
 And mournfully
The winds, storm—laden, blow.

Mine eyes are blind with tears,—
 Reach thou thy hand;
For else I shall not know
 Nor understand
The way that I should go.

All silently I stand,—
 Thou knowest all,
The loneliness and pain;
 The tears that fall,—
The hopes and longings vain.

And so I wait, because
 I know thee nigh,
And that the love which heeds
 The sparrow's cry
Will care for all my needs.

So, though the way be dark,
 I will not fear,
Sometime the light will be
 All bright and clear,
And I shall plainly see.

Then shall I understand
 Thy plans for me,—
Why pain and loss were best,—
 Then shall I see
In light and peace and rest.

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