Eventide

The day is past and the toilers cease;             The land grows dim 'mid the shadows grey,             And hearts are glad, for the dark brings peace                 At the close of day.             Each weary toiler, with lingering pace,             As he homeward turns, with the long day done,             Looks out to the west, with the light on his face                 Of the setting sun.             Yet some see not (with their sin-dimmed eyes)             The promise of rest in the fading light;             But the clouds loom dark in the angry skies                 At the fall of night.             And some see only a golden sky             Where the elms their welcoming arms stretch wide             To the calling rooks, as they homeward fly                 At the eventide.             It speaks of peace that comes after strife,             Of the rest He sends to the hearts He tried,             Of the calm that follows the stormiest life --                 God's eventide.