I will accept thy will to do and be, <br />Thy hatred and intolerance of sin, <br />Thy will at least to love, that burns within <br />And thirsteth after Me: <br />So will I render fruitful, blessing still, <br />The germs and small beginnings in thy heart, <br />Because thy will cleaves to the better part.— <br />Alas, I cannot will. <br /> <br />Dost not thou will, poor soul? Yet I receive <br />The inner unseen longings of the soul, <br />I guide them turning towards Me; I control <br />And charm hearts till they grieve: <br />If thou desire, it yet shall come to pass, <br />Though thou but wish indeed to choose My love; <br />For I have power in earth and heaven above.— <br />I cannot wish, alas! <br /> <br />What, neither choose nor wish to choose? and yet <br />I still must strive to win thee and constrain: <br />For thee I hung upon the cross in pain, <br />How then can I forget? <br />If thou as yet dost neither love, nor hate, <br />Nor choose, nor wish,—resign thyself, be still <br />Till I infuse love, hatred, longing, will.— <br />I do not deprecate.<br /><br />Christina Georgina Rossetti<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-bruised-reed-shall-he-not-break/
