Poems (Spofford)/Witnesses

by Harriet Prescott Spofford

WITNESSES.

Whenever my heart. is heavy,
 And life seems sad as death,
A subtle and marvelous mockery
 Of all who draw their breath,
And I weary of throned injustice,
 The rumor of outrage and wrong,
And I doubt if God rules above us,
 And I cry, O Lord, how long,
How long shall sorrow and evil
 Their forces around them draw!
Is there no power in thy right hand,
 Is there no life in thy law?

Then at last the blazing brightness
 Of day forsakes its height,
Slips like a splendid curtain
 From the awful and infinite night;
And out of the depths of distance,
 The gulfs of purple space,
The stars steal, slow and silent,
 Each in the ancient place,—
Each in armor shining,
 The hosts of heaven arrayed,
And wheeling through the midnight
 As they did when the world was made.

And I lean out among the shadows
 Cast by that far white gleam,
And I tremble at the murmur
 Of one mote in the mighty beam,
As the everlasting squadrons
 Their fated influence shed,
While the vast meridians sparkle
 With the glory of their tread.
That constellated glory
 The primal morning saw,
And I know God moves to his purpose,
 And still there is life in his law!