When man from Paradise was driven, <br />And thorns around his pathway sprung, <br />Sweet Mercy wandering there from heaven <br />Upon those thorns bright roses flung. <br /> <br />Aye, and as Justice cursed the ground, <br />She stole behind, unheard, unseen-- <br />And while the curses fell around, <br />She scattered seeds of joy between. <br /> <br />And thus, as evils sprung to light, <br />And spread, like weeds, their poisons wide, <br />Fresh healing plants came blooming bright, <br />And stood, to check them, side by side. <br /> <br />And now, though Eden blooms afar, <br />And man is exiled from its bowers, <br />Still mercy steals through bolt and bar, <br />And brings away its choicest flowers. <br /> <br />The very toil, the thorns of care, <br />That Heaven in wrath for sin imposes, <br />By mercy changed, no curses are-- <br />One brings us rest, the other roses. <br /> <br />Thus joy is linked with every woe-- <br />Each cup of ill its pleasure brings; <br />The rose is crushed, but then, you know, <br />The sweeter fragrance from it springs. <br /> <br />If justice throw athwart our way, <br />A deepening eve of fear and sorrow, <br />Hope, like the moon, reflects the ray <br />Of the bright sun that shines to-morrow. <br /> <br />And mercy gilds with stars the night; <br />Sweet music plays through weeping willows; <br />The blackest cave with gems is bright, <br />And pearls illume the ocean billows. <br /> <br />The very grave, though clouds may rise, <br />And shroud it o'er with midnight gloom, <br />Unfolds to faith the deep blue skies, <br />That glorious shine beyond the tomb.<br /><br />Samuel Griswold Goodrich<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/good-and-evil-10/
