 | The Poems of John Clare |  |
523
PROVIDENCE (II)
It hides the future, and leaves room for hopeTo smile and promise joys that may not come;
And cares from which our fortunes can't elope
Are robbed of half their terrors, being dumb
And all unable to foretell their speed.
This blessed ignorance is half the sum
Of providence; thus all are blest indeed,
The weak and strong, the timid and the bold;
Thus will the hare feel safe in its retreat,
Where lay the murdering fox an hour before;
And upon boughs warm with the falcon's feet,
The wren will perch, and dream of harm no more.
Kind providence amid contending strife
Bids weakness feel the liberty of life.
| The Poems of John Clare | |