Poems (Howard)/Alone
For works with similar titles, see Alone.
Alone.
The clays are so long and so dreary to me, In solitude wrapped like a pall, I wish Heaven would send me some comforting friend, Who would lovingly answer my call.
My heart is o'erburdened with sorrow and care, My life is enshrouded in gloom; I would that some light from that Heaven so bright My desolate way would illume.
I thought, in the happy, bright days of my youth, This world was made only for me; But how changed it appears now, as seen through my tears How gloomy and sad it would be.
"The waters encompass me!"—ready to sink, I utter this agonized prayer,That my bark, tempest-tossed, be not utterly lost Beneath the dark waves of despair.
I read of the saints and the martyrs of old, Who so valiantly fought the good fight,And received their reward from the hands of their Lord, A crown in that land of delight.
And I long for the faith that takes hold upon God, When the swift-surging billows roll by,That can look up and sing, while I trustfully cling To the Rock that is higher than I.
I long for that tranquil and undisturbed rest, When doubts and forebodings shall cease,And when God shall impart to my sorely-tried heart The sweet consolation of peace.