Lover and Friend hast Thou put far from me

Psalm lxxxviii. 18.

HEAR the soft September rain intone,And cheerful crickets chirping in the grass,—I bow my head, I, who am all alone:The light winds see, and shiver as they pass.

No other thing is so bereft as I,—The rain-drops fall, and mingle as they fall,—The chirping cricket knows his neighbour nigh,Leaves sway responsive to the light wind's call.

But Friend and Lover Thou hast put afar,And left me only Thy great, solemn sky,—I try to pierce beyond the farthest starTo search Thee out, and find Thee ere I die.

But dim my vision is, or Thou dost hideThy sacred splendour from my yearning eyes:Be pitiful, O God, and open wideTo me, bereft, Thy heavenly Paradise.

Give me one glimpse of that sweet, far off rest,—Then I can bear Earth's solitude again;My soul, returning from that heavenly quest,Shall smile, triumphant, at each transient pain.

Nor would I vex my heart with grief or strife,Though Friend and Lover Thou hast put afar,If I could see, through my worn tent of Life,The steadfast shining of Thy morning star.