New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1845-12-12
by SOUL AND

What hast thou done oh soul OF mine,
That thou tremblest 30 ?
Has, thou wrought His task, and kept the line
He babe thee got
What silent all art sad Of cheer7
Art fearful now?
When God seemed far and men were near
How brave vert thou3
Aha thou ,remblest well see
Thou TT craven grown.
Is it go hard with God and me
To stand alone =
Summon thy sunshine bravery back
On. wretched sprite
Lstmehear thy voice throug hthis deep and black
Abysmal night.
What hast thou wrought for Right and Truth,
For God and man,
From the golden hours OF bright'eyed youth
To lifes mid span'
All, soul Of mine, thy tones hear.
But weak and low,
Like far, sad murmurs on my ear.
They como and go.
'Ihave wres,led stoutly with the Wrong.
And borne the Right
From beneath the football Of the throng
To life and light.
Wherever Freedom shivered chain
God speed, quoth
To Error amids, her blended train
l gave the lie
Alb, soul Of mine all. soul of mine
Thy deeds are well:
Werethey wrought for Truth 5 sake or tor thine
My soul, pray tell.
OF all the work my hand hath wrought
Beneath the sky
Save place in kindly human thought
No gain have l.
Go to, 80 to for thy very self
Thy deeds were done:
Those for fame the misers for pelf,
Your end is one
And where ar, thou going soul of mine7
Canst see the end
And whittier this troubled life Of thine
Eyermore doth tend
What dsunts thee now what shakes thee 90
My sad soul, say:
i see cloud like q curtain low
Hang Ger my way
Whittier go cannot tell:
That cloud hangs black,
High as the Heaven aud deep as hell
Across my track.
u see its shadow coldly enwnlp
The souls before.
Sadly they enter IT, step by step
To return no more
They shrink, they shudder, dear God they kneel
To thee in prayer.
They shut their eyes on the cloud, but feel
That it still is there.
In vain they turn from the dread Before
To the Known and Cone
For while gazing behind them evermore
Their feet glide on.
Yet, at times, see upon sweet pale faces
A light begin,
To remble III il from holy places
Aud shrines within
And a, times methinks their cold lips move
With hymn and prayer,
Mfsomewhat of awe, but more OF love
And hope, were there.
! call on the souls who have left the light
To reveal their lot;
bend mine car to that Wall OF night,
And they answer not.
But hear aroond me signs Of pain
And the cry Of fear,
And sound likelhe slow, sad dropping Of rain,
Each drop tear
Ah' the cloud is dark, and day by day.
am moving thither
must pass beneath it on my way
God pity me !-WHITHER2
Al soul Of mine! SC brave and wise
In the lliestorm loud,
''onuag 50 calmly all human eyes,
in The sun.lit crowd!
NOW standing apart with God and me
Thou art weakness all,
0Ang vainly after the things TO be
Through Deaths dread wall.
But never for this never for this,
Was thy being lent
For the craven's fear is but sel6shness
Like his merriment.
Folly and fear are sisters twain:
One closing her eyes,
Toe other pcopling the dark inans
With spectral lies.
Know well, my soul, Gods hand controls
Wha,e'er thou tearest,
Hound him in calmest music rolls
Wha,eer thou nearest.
VIVA. to thee is shadow to Him is day
And the end. He knoweth,
And not on blind and aimiess way
The spiri:: goe,h.
Man sees no fu,ure-a phantom show
ls alone before him;
ses' Time is dead and the grasses grow
and flowers bloom DER him.
Nothing before him, nothing behind:
We walk in Faith
over the seeming void, and find
The rock beneath.
ioe Present-,he Present, is all thou hast
p, For thy sure possessing
luxe The patriarchs angel hold him fast
III ne gives his blessing
Why fear the night why shrink from Death.
~ Tha, phantom want
Nnese Is nothing in Heaven or earth beneath
Save God and man.
Fsopfins Lies shadows We turn from Him
ana, And from one another;
al spectral and vague and dim
Save God and our brother