IN calm and cool and silence, once again I find my old accustomed place among My brethren, where, perchance, no human tongue Shall utter words; where never hymn is sung, Nor deep-toned organ blown, nor censer swung, Nor dim light falling through the pictured pane! There, syllabled by silence, let me hear The still small voice which reached the prophet's ear; Read in my heart a still diviner law Than Israel's leader on his tables saw! There let me strive with each besetting sin, Recall my wandering fancies, and restrain The sore disquiet of a restless brain; And, as the path of duty is made plain, May grace be given that I may walk therein, Not like the hireling, for his selfish gain, With backward glances and reluctant tread, Making a merit of his coward dread, But, cheerful, in the light around me thrown, Walking as one to pleasant service led; Doing God's will as if it were my own, Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONGS FOR MY MOTHER: 3. HER WORDS by ANNA HEMPSTEAD BRANCH TO A CONTEMPORARY BUNKSHOOTER by CARL SANDBURG FIRST-DAY THOUGHTS by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER THE PROFESSION OF FLATTERY by ANTIPHANES INVITES POETS AND HISTORIANS TO WRITE IN CYNTHIA'S PRAISE by PHILIP AYRES OSTRA by ELLEN FRANCES BALDWIN LANDING AT DAWN by HARRY RANDOLPH BLYTHE WHY DISTRICT SCHOOL USED TO KEEP IN VERMONT by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY |