Poems (Hoffman)/Thou Shalt Forget Thy Misery

by Martha Lavinia Hoffman

THOU SHALT FORGET THY MISERY

Thou shalt forget thy misery,
As waters that have passed away,
The river murmurs as it speeds,
The cool wave whispers and recedes,
And tiny mountain brooks repeat
In infant voices gurgling sweet:
"Forget, sad heart, thy misery,
What are the waters passed away?"

Thou shalt forget thy misery,
And is it not a mockery?
Shall time flow on nor leave a trace
Of aching heart or troubled face,
Of weary hands, of stumbling feet,
And Life's broad stream flow clear and sweet,
Nor Mara's bitter waters blend
With the bright current to its end?

Answer, bright, babbling, boiling brook,
In graceful curve, in rugged crook,
As days and weeks and months go on,
Forever coming, going, gone;
Is it an idle mockery,
The faith that cries out hopefully,
Thou shalt forget thy misery,
As waters that have passed away?