 | Three Hundred Sonnets |  |
39
CONSOLATION.
Scholar of Reason, Grace, and Providence,Restrain thy bursting and indignant tears;
With tenderest might unerring Wisdom steers
Through those mad seas the bark of Innocence:
Doth thy heart burn for vengeance on the deed,—
Some barbarous deed, wrought out by cruelty
On woman, or on famished childhood's need,
Yea, or these fond dumb dogs,—doth thy heart bleed
For pity, child of sensibility?
Those tears are gracious, and thy wrath most right:
Yet patience, patience; there is comfort still;
The Judge is just; a world of love and light
Remains to counterpoise the load of ill,
And the poor victim's cup with joy to fill.
| Three Hundred Sonnets | |