Sea-Sonnet IV [Untitled]

Ha! gray old Master! I will not forget 
   What thou, blind brother of Eternity,—
   Below the ceaseless moan hast whispered me,—
That time is power, and even the tears that wet 
Infrangible fetters eat them down, and fret 
   Their strength away, to final victory! 
That deathless spirits with unswerving aim, 
   Though weak as water, mine like molten steel 
Into the heart of hind'rance, till they shame 
   The slumbering mighty. In thy trust I feel 
   The confidence of ages, and the zeal 
That waiting, works, and working, waits the same. 
   The eternal want, advancing grain by grain 
Through temporal barriers, wins alike eternal gain.