Poems (Clark)/Answers

by Annie Maria Lawrence Clark

ANSWERS

I prayed for light, when over earth and sky
 Clouds drifted low,—
The night came on apace, with wind and rain,
 And blinding snow.
And on my heart there lay a nameless dread,
 How should I go?

I could but wait, God surely would not cast
 My prayer aside,
For He has promised in the darkest hour
 To light provide,—
And when the storm beat fiercest, Truth appeared
 My steps to guide.

I prayed for guidance, and my feet were led
 A dreary way,—
Down rugged steeps, and over chasms wide,
 My journey lay,—
A desolate and lonely path was mine
 From day to day.

I prayed for patience, and a heavy weight
 Pressed on my breast;
The sorrow that I dreaded most, crept in
 To mar my rest.
Joy's garlands faded, and the hopes proved vain
 That I prized best.

I prayed, and God my Father, answered me,
 In His own way:
He sent the darkness, that unquestioning
 I might obey,
And after night's drear tempest, find through truth
 Love's perfect day.

My prayer for guidance, too was not in vain,
 My heart He knew,
And how the path I gladly would have trod,
 Though fair to view,
Was not the narrow one that leads to life
 Perfect and true.

And so He led me in His own good way,
 And when I cried,
And asked for patience, then my griefs and pains
 Were multiplied,
That my poor heart might sooner yield its will
 To His, my Guide,
And through my tears and anguish, learn to trust
 Him to provide.