Page:Poems Shipton.djvu/110

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I cast it in the waters,
 And the stream flowed softly on;
I drank that day of Marah,—
 Its bitterness was gone.

That tender plant, rejected,
 Hidden from sight, had lain,
Until from earth's dark chamber
 It rose to life again.
Three days,—and then it blossomed,
 And wondrous fruit it bore;
Its leaves are leaves of healing,
 And will be evermore.

And now I stand by Marah,
 Where once I shrank and feared;
Even those bitter waters
 His tenderness endeared:
And safe beneath His shadow
 My soul looks calmly on,
Till the day breaks on the mountain,
 And the desert march is done.

Beneath the Rock I rest me;
 The stream is bright and sweet;
I drink from its deep waters,
 And lave my dust-stained feet;