The world may rage without,
Quiet is here;
Statesmen may toil and shout,
Cynics may sneer;
The great world,--let it go,--
June warmth be March's snow,
I care not,--be it so
Since I am here.
Time was when war's alarm
Called for a fear,
When sorrow's seeming harm
Hastened a tear.
Naught care I now what foe
Threatens, for scarce I know
How the year's seasons go
Since I am here.
This is my resting-place
Holy and dear,
Where pain's dejected face
May not appear;
This is the world to me,
Earth's woes I will not see,
But rest contentedly
Since I am here.
Is't your voice chiding, Love,
My mild career,
My meek abiding, Love,
Daily so near?--
'Danger and loss,' to me?
Ah, Sweet, I fear to see
No loss but loss of _thee_,
And I am here.