FAITH

I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea

Come drifting home with broken masts and sails;

I shall believe the Hand which never fails,

From seeming evil worketh good to me;

And though I weep because those sails are battered,

Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered,

"I trust in Thee."

I will not doubt, though all my prayers return

Unanswered from the still, white realm above;

I shall believe it is an all-wise Love

Which has refused those things for which I yearn;

And though, at times, I cannot keep from grieving,

Yet the pure ardor of my fixed believing

Undimmed shall burn.

I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain,

And troubles swarm like bees about a hive;

I shall believe the heights for which I strive,

Are only reached by anguish and my pain;

And though I groan and tremble with my crosses,

I yet shall see, through my severest losses,

The greater gain.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox