The Poetry Corner

I Will Not Despair.

By Pamela S. Vining, (J. C. Yule)

I will not despair while thou rulest the storm, Though the red lightning stream o'er the cloud's sable-breast, For I catch through the darkness bright gleams of thy form, And I know 'tis thy voice lulls the tempest to rest - The wild tempest to rest: Nor yet, though the shadows of deepening night, Hang over my path like the pall of despair; For one star through the gloom sends its hallowed light, And I know 'tis thy love smiling tenderly there, - Ah! tenderly there. I will not despair, though the fountain that burst For me in life's desert be wasted and dry; For thy love was the fountain that cheered me at first, And again to its life-giving waters I fly - O Holiest, fly! No; I will not despair while thy hand points me on, Though flowerless and thorny the path where I roam. For a calm sunlight rests on the far hills beyond, And I know 'tis the radiance that streams from my home, - Home, beautiful home!