| |
| O GOD! if this indeed be all | |
| That Life can show to me; | |
| If on my aching brow may fall | |
| No freshening dew from Thee; | |
| |
| If with no brighter light than this | 5 |
| The lamp of hope may glow, | |
| And I may only dream of bliss, | |
| And wake to weary woe; | |
| |
| If friendship’s solace must decay, | |
| When other joys are gone, | 10 |
| And love must keep so far away, | |
| While I go wandering on,— | |
| |
| Wandering and toiling without gain, | |
| The slave of others’ will, | |
| With constant care and frequent pain, | 15 |
| Despised, forgotten still; | |
| |
| Grieving to look on vice and sin, | |
| Yet powerless to quell | |
| The silent current from within, | |
| The outward torrent’s swell; | 20 |
| |
| While all the good I would impart, | |
| The feelings I would share, | |
| Are driven backward to my heart, | |
| And turned to wormwood there; | |
| |
| If clouds must ever keep from sight | 25 |
| The glories of the Sun, | |
| And I must suffer Winter’s blight, | |
| Ere Summer is begun: | |
| |
| If Life must be so full of care— | |
| Then call me soon to Thee; | 30 |
| Or give me strength enough to bear | |
| My load of misery! | |
| |
