Page:The college beautiful, and other poems.djvu/83

Rh And he bears our curses, he carries our thanks, As he takes his place in the pilgrim ranks Of the dim-eyed years who journey along, Shrilling us back a discordant song, That mingles and blends with the distance'and ends In a harmony soft and strong. Long foretold, in the morning cold, With pain and music and mirth, The New Year gleams on the broken dreams Of the fast-revolving earth. A secret, a change, and a mystery, What hath not been and what is to be, Nourished and cherished and hidden away, Saved by Time for this ripening day, To work a deed forever decreed And a mission it must obey. All unknown, it is thou alone Who canst tell thine errand aright, A whispered thought when the world was not And a sign made in the night. Far from the touch of our vain surmise, In thy folded hours thy meaning lies, To some for blessing, to some for curse, Yet none would thy destined dawn disperse, For it works in the plan that is more than man And is well for the universe.