'The cross, if rightly borne, shall be <br />No burden, but support to thee;' <br />So, moved of old time for our sake, <br />The holy monk of Kempen spake. <br /> <br />Thou brave and true one! upon whom <br />Was laid the cross of martyrdom, <br />How didst thou, in thy generous youth, <br />Bear witness to this blessed truth! <br /> <br />Thy cross of suffering and of shame <br />A staff within thy hands became, <br />In paths where faith alone could see <br />The Master's steps supporting thee. <br /> <br />Thine was the seed-time; God alone <br />Beholds the end of what is sown; <br />Beyond our vision, weak and dim, <br />The harvest-time is hid with Him. <br /> <br />Yet, unforgotten where it lies, <br />That seed of generous sacrifice, <br />Though seeming on the desert cast, <br />Shall rise with bloom and fruit at last.<br /><br />John Greenleaf Whittier<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-cross-16/
