Poems (Stephens)/Invocation to hope
INVOCATION TO HOPE.
O, come and sit beside my hearth,Thou dearest guest of all on earth:Come with thy kindly voice and smileAnd help my weariness beguile,
Wilt thou to me sweet counsel giveOf how I may serenely live,I'm glad thou hast not tarried late,Lest I perchance should war with faith.
For I have friends that careless prove—They harken not to words of love;And hast thou known of such before,And they returned to vex no more?
Will see I am by care opprest,My hands are tired, my brain distressed;What, would not ask these cares removed?So sweet to toil for those beloved.
But sure my griefs are hard to bearSo heavy and so great a share:Is't wrong to mourn those passed awayTo happiness that lasts for aye?
Well what of pains that know no cure,If I still patiently endure,Rejoicing? Is it sure at lastWhen care and grief and pain are past?
I thank thee, Hope; thou art the bestOf earthly friends the tenderest,But stay with me, for all the whileI need thy kindly voice and smile.