Waiting

Waiting

Serene, I fold my hands and wait,

     Nor care for wind nor tide nor sea;

I rave no more ‘gainst time or fate,

     For lo! my own shall come to me.

I stay my haste, I make delays—

     For what avails this eager pace?

I stand amid the eternal ways

     And what is mine shall know my face.

Asleep, awake, by night or day,

     The friends I seek are seeking me,

No wind can drive my bark astray

     Nor change the tide of destiny.

What matter if I stand alone?

     I wait with joy the coming years;

My heart shall reap where it has sown,

     And garner up its fruit of tears.

The waters know their own, and draw

     The brook that springs in yonder height;

So flows the good with equal law

     Unto the soul of pure delight.

The stars come nightly to the sky;

     The tidal wave unto the sea;

Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high,

     Can keep my own away from me.