Page:Poems Jackson.djvu/333

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GOD'S LIGHT-HOUSES.
237
THE VICTORY OF PATIENCE.
ARMED of the gods! Divinest conqueror!
What soundless hosts are thine! Nor pomp, nor state,
Nor token, to betray where thou dost wait.
All Nature stands, for thee, ambassador;
Her forces all thy serfs, for peace or war.
Greatest and least alike, thou rul'st their fate,—
The avalanche chained until its century's date,
The mulberry leaf made robe for emperor!
Shall man alone thy law deny?—refuse
Thy healing for his blunders and his sins?
Oh, make us thine! Teach us who waits best sues;
Who longest waits of all most surely wins.
When Time is spent, Eternity begins.
To doubt, to chafe, to haste, doth God accuse.


GOD'S LIGHT-HOUSES.
WHEN night falls on the earth, the sea
From east to west lies twinkling bright
With shining beams from beacons high
Which flash afar a friendly light.

The sailor's eyes, like eyes in prayer,
Turn unto them for guiding ray:
If storms obscure their radiance,
The great ships helpless grope their way.