Classic Poem

O that I stood in the presence of God;
In the palpable presence of God,
And had voice for one cry!
That my body were dead, and my soul were alive
In the light of that imminent Eye!

" God! give me one boon for my life,
That was patient and long;
For the waiting; the years, — oh, the years!
For the hunger and tears;
For the hurt and the wrong:
God! grant me one boon for my life!
Somewhere — oh Thou knowest the where —
In Thy worlds with their heavens and hells,
In the limitless spaces of air,
He is , and Thou knowest the where!
A boon, oh, a boon! Send me there!

" For I bore it, the worst that was sent;
The pitiless ache of the tears;
The loss, and the fierce discontent
And the horror and fears
Of that silence more hard than a wall!
And the fancies, so maddeningly sweet,
More cruel than all:
By the love that is deathless I call
As I fall at Thy feet. "

Would I cry? Would the floods be unsealed
In that Presence, in sight of the Thrones?
Would I jar the loud joy of the Saints
With my strenuous tones?
Or stand with my hand on my mouth
Unable to praise or to pray:
Just feeling , " Thou knowest it all;
What is there to say? "