XLI
Thy sun is near meridian height,
And my sun sinks in endless night;
But if that night bring only sleep,
Then I shall rest, while thou wilt weep.
And say not that my early tomb
Will give me to a darker doom;
Shall these long agonising years
Be punished by eternal tears?
No: that I feel can never be;
A God of hate could hardly bear
To watch through all eternity,
His own creation's dread despair!
The pangs that wring my mortal breast,
Must claim from Justice lasting rest;
Enough, that this departing breath
Will pass in anguish worse than death.
If I have sinned; long, long ago
That sin was purified by woe.
I have suffered on thro' night and day;
I've trod a dark and frightful way.
Earth's wilderness was round me spread,
Heaven's tempests beat my naked head;
I did not kneel; in vain would prayer
Have sought one gleam of mercy there!
