As the falling of a leaf,
So brief its day and its hour;
No bud more and no bower
Or hint of a flower.
Shall many wail it? not so:
Shall one bewail it? not one:
Thus it hath been from long ago,
Thus it shall be beneath the sun.
O fleet sun, make haste to flee;
O rivers, fill up the sea;
O Death, set the dying free.
The sun nor loiters nor speeds,
The rivers run as they ran,
Thro’ clouds or thro’ windy reeds
All run as when all began.
Only Death turns at our cries: —
Lo, the Hope we buried with sighs
Alive in Death’s eyes!
A CHURCHYARD SONG OF PATIENT HOPE
All tears done away with the bitter unquiet sea,
Death done away from among the living at last,
Man shall say of sorrow — Love grant it to thee and me! —
At last, “It is past.”
Shall I say of pain, “It is past,” nor say it with thee,
Thou heart of my heart, thou soul of my soul, my Friend?
Shalt thou say of pain, “It is past,” nor say it with me
Beloved to the end?
ONE WOE IS PAST. COME WHAT COME WILL
One woe is past. Come what come will
Thus much is ended and made fast:
Two woes may overhang us still;
One woe is past.
As flowers when winter puffs its last
Wake in the vale, trail up the hill,
Nor wait for skies to overcast;
So meek souls rally from the chill
Of pain and fear and poisonous blast,
To lift their heads: come good, come ill,
One woe is past.
TAKE NO THOUGHT FOR THE MORROW
Who knows? God knows: and what He knows
Is well and best.
The darkness hideth not from Him, but glows
Clear as the morning or the evening rose
Of east or west.
Wherefore man’s strength is to sit still:
Not wasting care
To antedate tomorrow’s good or ill;
Yet watching meekly, watching with good will,
Watching to prayer.
Some rising or some setting ray
From east or west,
If not today, why then another day
Will light each dove upon the homeward way
Safe to her nest.
CONSIDER THE LILIES OF THE FIELD
Solomon most glorious in array
Put not on his glories without care: —
Clothe us as Thy lilies of a day,
As the lilies Thou accountest fair,
Lilies of Thy making,
Of Thy love partaking,
Filling with free fragrance earth and air:
Thou Who gatherest lilies, gather us and wear.
SON, REMEMBER
I laid beside thy gate, am Lazarus;
See me or see me not I still am there,
Hungry and thirsty, sore and sick and bare,
Dog-comforted and crumbs-solicitous:
While thou in all thy ways art sumptuous,
Daintily clothed, with dainties for thy fare:
Thus a world’s wonder thou art quit of care,
And be I seen or not seen I am thus.
One day a worm for thee, a worm for me:
With my worm angel songs and trumpet burst
And plenitude an end of all desire:
But what for thee, alas! but what for thee?
Fire and an unextinguishable thirst,
Thirst in an unextinguishable fire.
HEAVINESS MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT, BUT JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING
No thing is great on this side of the grave,
Nor any thing of any stable worth:
Whatso is born from earth returns to earth:
No thing we grasp proves half the thing we crave:
The tidal wave shrinks to the ebbing wave:
Laughter is folly, madness lurks in mirth:
Mankind sets off a-dying from the birth:
Life is a losing game, with what to save?
Thus I sat mourning like a mournful owl,
And like a doleful dragon made ado,
Companion of all monsters of the dark:
When lo! the light cast off its nightly cowl,
And up to heaven flashed a caroling lark,
And all creation sang its hymn anew.
While all creation sang its hymn anew
What could I do but sing a stave in tune?
Spectral on high hung pale the vanishing moon
Where a last gleam of stars hung paling too.
Lark’s lay — a cockcrow — with a scattered few
Soft early chirpings — with a tender croon
Of doves — a hundred thousand calls, and soon
A hundred thousand answers sweet and true.
These set me singing too at unawares:
One note for all delights and charities,
One note for hope reviving with the light,
One note for every lovely thing that is;
Till while I sang my heart shook off its cares
And reveled in the land of no more night.
THE WILL OF THE LORD BE DONE
O Lord, fulfil Thy Will
Be the days few or many, good or ill:
Prolong them, to suffice
For offering up ourselves Thy sacrifice;
Shorten them if Thou wilt,
To make in righteousness an end of guilt.
Yea, they will not be long
To souls who learn to sing a patient song;
Yea, short they will not be
To souls on tiptoe to flee home to Thee.
O Lord, fulfil Thy Will:
Make Thy Will ours, and keep us patient still
Be the days few or many, good or ill.
LAY UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN
Treasure plies a feather,
Pleasure spreadeth wings,
Taking flight together, —
Ah! my cherished things.
Fly away, poor pleasure,
That art so brief a thing:
Fly away, poor treasure,
That hast so swift a wing.
Pleasure, to be pleasure,
Must come without a wing:
Treasure, to be treasure,
Must be a stable thing.
Treasure without feather,
Pleasure without wings,
Elsewhere dwell together
And are heavenly things.
WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CHASTENETH
“One sorrow more? I thought the tale complete.” —
He bore amiss who grudges what he bore:
Stretch out thy hands and urge thy feet to meet
One sorrow more.
Yea, make thy count for two or three or four:
The kind Physician will not slack to treat
His patient while there’s rankling in the sore.
Bear up in anguish, ease will yet be sweet;
Bear up all day, for night has rest in store:
Christ bears thy burden with thee, rise and greet
One sorrow more.
THEN SHALL YE SHOUT
It seems an easy thing
Mayhap one day to sing
Yet the next day
We cannot sing or say.
Keep silence with good heart,
While silence fits our part:
Another day
We shall both sing and say.
Keep silence, counting time
To strike in at the chime:
Prepare to sound, —
Our part is coming round.
Can we not sing or say?
In silence let us pray,
And meditate
Our love-song whil
e we wait.
EVERYTHING THAT IS BORN MUST DIE
Everything that is born must die;
Everything that can sigh may sing;
Rocks in equal balance, low or high,
Everything.
Honeycomb is weighed against a sting;
Hope and fear take turns to touch the sky;
Height and depth respond alternating.
O my soul, spread wings of love to fly,
Wings of dove that soars on home-bound wing:
Love trusts Love, till Love shall justify
Everything.
LORD, GRANT US CALM, IF CALM CAN SET FORTH THEE
Lord, grant us calm, if calm can set forth Thee;
Or tempest, if a tempest set Thee forth;
Wind from the east or west or south or north,
Or congelation of a silent sea,
With stillness of each tremulous aspen tree.
Still let fruit fall, or hang upon the tree;
Still let the east and west, the south and north,
Curb in their winds, or plough a thundering sea;
Still let the earth abide to set Thee forth,
Or vanish like a smoke to set forth Thee.
CHANGING CHIMES
It was not warning that our fathers lacked,
It is not warning that we lack today.
The Voice that cried still cries: “Rise up and act:
Watch alway, — watch and pray, — watch alway, —
All men.”
Alas, if aught was lacked goodwill was lacked;
Alas, goodwill is what we lack today.
O gracious Voice, grant grace that all may act,
Watch and act, — watch and pray, — watch alway. —
Amen.
THY SERVANT WILL GO AND FIGHT WITH THIS PHILISTINE
Sorrow of saints is sorrow of a day,
Gladness of saints is gladness evermore:
Send on thy hope, send on thy will before
To chant God’s praise along the narrow way.
Stir up His praises if the flesh would sway,
Exalt His praises if the world press sore,
Peal out His praises if black Satan roar
A hundred thousand lies to say them nay.
Devil and Death and Hades, threefold cord
Not quickly broken, front thee to thy face;
Front thou them with a face of tenfold flint:
Shout for the battle, David! never stint
Body or breath or blood, but proof in grace
Die for thy Lord, as once for thee thy Lord.
THRO’ BURDEN AND HEAT OF THE DAY
Thro’ burden and heat of the day
How weary the hands and the feet
That labour with scarcely a stay,
Thro’ burden and heat!
Tired toiler whose sleep shall be sweet,
Kneel down, it will rest thee to pray:
Then forward, for daylight is fleet.
Cool shadows show lengthening and grey,
Cool twilight will soon be complete:
What matters this wearisome way
Thro’ burden and heat?
THEN I COMMENDED MIRTH
“A merry heart is a continual feast.”
Then take we life and all things in good part:
To fast grows festive while we keep at least
A merry heart
Well pleased with nature and well pleased with art;
A merry heart makes cheer for man and beast,
And fancies music in a creaking cart.
Someday, a restful heart whose toils have ceased,
A heavenly heart gone home from earthly mart:
Today, blow wind from west or wind from east,
A merry heart.
SORROW HATH A DOUBLE VOICE
Sorrow hath a double voice,
Sharp today but sweet tomorrow:
Wait in patience, hope, rejoice,
Tried friends of sorrow.
Pleasure hath a double taste,
Sweet today but sharp tomorrow:
Friends of pleasure, rise in haste,
Make friends with sorrow.
Pleasure set aside today
Comes again to rule tomorrow:
Welcomed sorrow will not stay,
Farewell to sorrow!
SHADOWS TODAY, WHILE SHADOWS SHOW GOD’S WILL
Shadows today, while shadows show God’s Will.
Light were not good except He sent us light.
Shadows today, because this day is night
Whose marvels and whose mysteries fulfil
Their course and deep in darkness serve Him still.
Thou dim aurora, on the extremest height
Of airy summits wax not over-bright;
Refrain thy rose, refrain thy daffodil.
Until God’s Word go forth to kindle thee
And garland thee and bid thee stoop to us,
Blush in the heavenly choirs and glance not down:
Today we race in darkness for a crown,
In darkness for beatitude to be,
In darkness for the city luminous.
TRULY THE LIGHT IS SWEET
Light colourless doth colour all things else:
Where light dwells pleasure dwells
And peace excels.
Then rise and shine,
Thou shadowed soul of mine,
And let a cheerful rainbow make thee fine.
Light, fountain of all beauty and delight,
Leads day forth from the night,
Turns blackness white.
Light waits for thee
Where all have eyes to see:
Oh, well is thee, and happy shalt thou be!
ARE YE NOT MUCH BETTER THAN THEY?
The twig sprouteth,
The moth outeth,
The plant springeth,
The bird singeth:
Tho’ little we sing today
Yet are we better than they;
Tho’ growing with scarce a showing,
Yet, please God, we are growing.
The twig teacheth,
The moth preacheth,
The plant vaunteth,
The bird chanteth,
God’s mercy overflowing
Merciful past man’s knowing.
Please God to keep us growing
Till the awful day of mowing.
YEA, THE SPARROW HATH FOUND HER AN HOUSE
Wisest of sparrows that sparrow which sitteth alone
Perched on the housetop, its own upper chamber, for nest;
Wisest of swallows that swallow which timely has flown
Over the turbulent sea to the land of its rest:
Wisest of sparrows and swallows, if I were as wise!
Wisest of spirits that spirit which dwelleth apart
Hid in the Presence of God for a chapel and nest,
Sending a wish and a will and a passionate heart
Over the eddy of life to that Presence in rest:
Seated alone and in peace till God bids it arise.
I AM SMALL AND OF NO REPUTATION
The least, if so I am;
If so, less than the least,
May I reach heaven to glorify the Lamb
And sit down at the Feast.
I fear and I am small,
Whence am I of good cheer;
For I who hear Thy call, have heard Thee call
To Thee the small who fear.
O CHRIST MY GOD WHO SEEST THE UNSEEN
O Christ my God Who seest the unseen,
O Christ my God Who knowest the unknown,
Thy mighty Blood was poured forth to atone
For every sin that can be or hath been.
O Thou Who seest what I cannot see,
Thou Who didst love us all so long ago,
O Thou Who knowest what I must not know,
Remember all my hope, remember me.
YEA, IF THOU WILT, THOU CANST PUT UP THY SWORD
Yea, if Thou wilt, Thou canst put up Thy sword;
But what if Thou shouldst sheathe it to the hilt
Within the heart that sues to Thee, O Lord?
Yea, if Thou wilt.
For if Thou wilt Thou canst purge out the guilt
Of all, of any, even the most abhorred:
Thou canst pluck down, rebuild, build up the unbuilt.
Who wanders, canst Thou gather by love’s cord?
Who sinks, uplift from the under-sucking silt
To set him on Thy rock within Thy ward?
Yea, if Thou wilt.
SWEETNESS OF REST WHEN THOU SHEDDEST REST
Sweetness of rest when Thou sheddest rest,
Sweetness of patience till then;
Only the Will of our God is best
For all the millions of men.
For all the millions on earth today,
On earth and under the earth;
Waiting for earth to vanish away,
Waiting to come to the birth.
O FOOLISH SOUL! TO MAKE THY COUNT
O foolish Soul! to make thy count
For languid falls and much forgiven,
When like a flame thou mightest mount
To storm and carry heaven.
A life so faint, — is this to live?
A goal so mean, — is this a goal?
Christ love thee, remedy, forgive,
Save thee, O foolish Soul.
Delphi Complete Poetical Works of Christina Rossetti Page 47