Classic Poem

Seek not to fathom Fate's decree;
Whatever has been was to be.
Not all the sighs of Time could stay
The heavy hand she seeks to lay;
Not all the tears of all the years
Could blot one page from yesterday.

Seek not to see beyond the cloud,
To fathom depths beneath the shroud;
Thy little knowledge soars in vain,
To beat its wings in dust again.
It is thy doom to dwell in gloom
Till Death shall see thee rest or reign.

Thou canst alone hope some wise plan
Pervades the destiny of man;
That purposes divine are blent
With what seems chance or accident.
That out afar, the falling star
Sees purpose to its mission bent.

Thou art a prisoner here, alone,
And helpless as the sod or stone;
Small as on greatness lay'st thou stress,
Great as thou know'st thy littleness.
A child of Chance and Circumstance,
God's infant in thy helplessness.