In Memoriam A. H. H.: 54. Oh, yet we Trust that somehow Goo

Portrait of Alfred Lord Tennyson
Alfred Lord Tennyson 1809–1892

Oh, yet we trust that somehow good Will be the final end of ill, To pangs of nature, sins of will, Defects of doubt, and taints of blood; That nothing walks with aimless feet; That not one life shall be destroy'd, Or cast as rubbish to the void, When God hath made the pile complete; That not a worm is cloven in vain; That not a moth with vain desire I shrivell'd in a fruitless fire, Or but subserves another's gain.

Behold, we know not anything; I can but trust that good shall fall At last--far off--at last, to all, And every winter change to spring.

So runs my dream: but what am I? An infant crying in the night: An infant crying for the light: And with no language but a cry.

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