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.
