I think that though the clouds be dark, <br />That though the waves dash o'er the bark, <br />Yet after while the light will come, <br />And in calm waters safe at home <br />The bark will anchor. <br />Weep not, my sad-eyed, gray-robed maid, <br />Because your fairest blossoms fade, <br />That sorrow still o'erruns your cup, <br />And even though you root them up, <br />The weeds grow ranker. <br /> <br />For after while your tears shall cease, <br />And sorrow shall give way to peace; <br />The flowers shall bloom, the weeds shall die, <br />And in that faith seen, by and by <br />Thy woes shall perish. <br />Smile at old Fortune's adverse tide, <br />Smile when the scoffers sneer and chide. <br />Oh, not for you the gems that pale, <br />And not for you the flowers that fail; <br />Let this thought cherish: <br /> <br />That after while the clouds will part, <br />And then with joy the waiting heart <br />Shall feel the light come stealing in, <br />That drives away the cloud of sin <br />And breaks its power. <br />And you shall burst your chrysalis, <br />And wing away to realms of bliss, <br />Untrammelled, pure, divinely free, <br />Above all earth's anxiety <br />From that same hour.<br /><br />Paul Laurence Dunbar<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-poem-of-faith/
