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 for 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 ardour 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 by pain;
And though I groan and tremble with
my crosses,
I yet shall see, through my severest
losses,
The greater gain,
I will not doubt; well anchored in the faith,
Like some staunch ship, my soul braves
every gale,
So strong its courage that it will not
fail
To breast the mighty unknown sea of Death.
Oh, may I cry when body parts with spirit,
"I do not doubt," so listening worlds
may hear it,
With my last breath.
Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917.
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