Poems (Argent)/Lux in Tenebris
For works with similar titles, see Lux in Tenebris.
LUX IN TENEBRIS.
THERE are, I wist,Some shadowy nooks within this world of ours By morning beam of sunshine seldom kist,So cold and cheerless seem their days and hours, And yet through stone and chink, and mire and mart, God gives a light to penetrate each heart.
There are who sitWithin that self-same shadow, yet they take The cup of sorrow meekly, as is fitThey thus should drink it for the dear Lord's sake; Who see through faith, (though tears their eyes enshroud), The silver lining breaking through the cloud.
And there be someSweet patient souls who dwell in narrow ways To whom the pearl of health doth seldom come,So full of suffering are all their days; And yet within them burning clear and bright A voice that says "Behold! I am thy light!"
There are, I ween,Some hidden corners in the woods and lanes Unguessed by man, for thickly by a screenOf leafy banners, and mute summer rains They fail our vision—but the light they win In the green silence is by God closed in.
But it is there,Invisible unto the human eye Accustomed to the sunshine lying fairIn undulating waves o'er sea and sky. The shades of evening and their dying rays Point to the sun who lights the woodland ways.
No perfect songBut has a touch of sadness in its strain, An undercurrent moving swift and strong,That takes us captive o'er and o'er again. No lovely picture but a shade of night Was blended softly to throw up its light.
So, likewise weIn thoroughfares of keen perplexèd thought Glance upwards, till our souls are taught to seeThe mingled blessings joy and grief have wrought In our lives' patterns—then we know that love Wielded both lights and shadows from above!