| Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916. | | | XXXIII. Resignation
From ‘Balder Dead’ | | By Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) |
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ENOUGH of tears, ye Gods, enough of wail! | |
| Not to lament in was Valhalla made. | |
| If any here might weep for Balder’s death | |
| I most might weep, his father; such a son | |
| I lose to-day, so bright, so loved a God! | 5 |
| But he has met that doom which long ago | |
| The Nornies, when his mother bare him, spun, | |
| And fate set seal, that so his end must be. | |
| Balder has met his death, and ye survive! | |
| Weep him an hour; but what can grief avail? | 10 |
| For ye yourselves, ye Gods, shall meet your doom, | |
| All ye who hear me, and inhabit Heaven, | |
| And I too, Odin too, the Lord of all; | |
| But ours we shall not meet, when that day comes, | |
| With woman’s tears and weak complaining cries— | 15 |
| Why should we meet another’s portion so? | |
| Rather it fits you, having wept your hour, | |
| With cold dry eyes, and hearts composed and stern, | |
| To live, as erst, your daily life in Heaven. | | | | |
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