Poems (Shipton)/The Shining Footprint

by Anna Shipton

THE SHINING FOOTPRINT.

"I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."—John viii. 12.
"We walk by faith, not by sight."—2 Cor. v. 7.

Dark the way I wander:
 Shall I then go back?
Nay! I trace a footprint
 On the desert track,
And I hear a whisper
 (Sweeter could not be),
"Lo, I go before thee,
 Rise! and follow Me."

So I rose up quickly,
 With my staff in hand,
Gath'ring strength in rising
 At my Lord's command;
Yet I thought (half sighing),
 "Not a step I see!"
"On! "He said, "the darkness
 Hideth not from Me."

For awhile I lingered,
 Still on the sunshine bent;
Not a ray broke o'er me,
 All the way I went;
But upon the waters
 Seemed that step to be;
O'er the billows whispered,
 "Come and follow me."

There were thousand footprints
 On my way before,
Free and far they wandered,
 On that sandy shore.
One, unlike all others
 In its lucid light,
Left a path of glory
 Through the gloomy night.

By the stormy waters,
 In the busy street,
Through the dreary alley,
 'Mid the crowding feet,
Gleams that shining footprint,
 All may seek and see;
And the voice of Jesus
 Whispers, "Follow Me."

Lord, keep Thou my footsteps
 Very near to Thine,
That some ray of glory
 On my path may shine;
Nearer and still nearer
 Draw my heart to Thee,
Lest I lose thy whisper—
 "Rise and follow Me."