Page:The Poems and Prose remains of Arthur Hugh Clough, volume 2 (1869).djvu/107



It may be true That while we walk the troublous tossing sea, That when we see the o'ertopping waves advance, And when we feel our feet beneath us sink, There are who walk beside us; and the cry That rises so spontaneous to the lips, The 'Help us or we perish,' is not nought, An evanescent spectrum of disease. It may be that indeed and not in fancy, A hand that is not ours upstays our steps, A voice that is not ours commands the waves; Commands the waves, and whispers in our ear, O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? At any rate, That there are beings above us, I believe, And when we lift up holy hands of prayer, I will not say they will not give us aid.

we, when face to face we see The Father of our souls, shall be, John tells us, doth not yet appear; Ah! did he tell what we are here!

A mind for thoughts to pass into, A heart for loves to travel through, Five senses to detect things near, Is this the whole that we are here?

Rules baffle instincts—instinct rules, Wise men are bad—and good are fools, Facts evil—wishes vain appear, We cannot go, why are we here?