After While. A Poem of Faith

Paul Laurence Dunbar

I think that though the clouds be dark,

That though the waves dash o'er the bark,

Yet after while the light will come,

And in calm waters safe at home

The bark will anchor.

Weep not, my sad-eyed, gray-robed maid,

Because your fairest blossoms fade,

For after while your tears shall cease,

And sorrow shall give way to peace;

The flow'rs shall bloom, the weeds shall die,

And in that faith seen, by and by

Thy woes shall perish.

Smile at old Fortune's adverse tide,

Smile when the scoffers sneer and chide.

Oh, not for you the gems that pale,

And not for you the flowers that fail;

Let this thought cherish:

That after while the clouds will part,

And then with joy the waiting heart

Shall feel the light come stealing in,

That drives away the cloud of sin.