Ella Wheeler Wilcox

* * *

Spirit of a Great Control,
   Gird me with thy strength and might,
Essence of the Over-Soul--
   Fill me, thrill me with thy light;
Though the waves of sorrow beat
   Madly at my very feet,
Though the night and storm are near,
   Teach me that I need not fear.

Though the clouds obscure the sky,
   When the tempest sweeps the lands,
Still about, below, on high,
   God’s great solar system stands.
Never yet a star went out.
   What have I to fear or doubt?--
I, a part of this great whole,
   Governed by the Over-Soul.

Like the great eternal hills,
   Like the rock that fronts the wave,
Let me meet all earthly ills
   With a fearless heart and brave;
Like the earth that drinks the rain,
   Let me welcome floods of pain,
Till I grow in strength to be
   Worthy of my source in Thee.