Hope

Faith may break on reason,     Faith may prove a treason     To that highest gift     That is granted by Thy grace;     But Hope! Ah, let us cherish     Some spark that may not perish,     Some tiny spark to cheer us,     As we wander through the waste!     A little lamp beside us,     A little lamp to guide us,     Where the path is rocky,     Where the road is steep.     That when the light falls dimmer,     Still some God-sent glimmer     May hold us steadfast ever,     To the track that we should keep.     Hope for the trending of it,     Hope for the ending of it,     Hope for all around us,     That it ripens in the sun.     Hope for what is waning,     Hope for what is gaining,     Hope for what is waiting     When the long day is done.     Hope that He, the nameless,     May still be best and blameless,     Nor ever end His highest     With the earthworm and the slime.     Hope that o'er the border,     There lies a land of order,     With higher law to reconcile     The lower laws of Time.     Hope that every vexed life,     Finds within that next life,     Something that may recompense,     Something that may cheer.     And that perchance the lowest one     Is truly but the slowest one,     Quickened by the sorrow     Which is waiting for him here.