| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. | | | | 879. Waiting | | | | By John Burroughs | | | | | | SERENE, I fold my hands and wait, | | | Nor care for wind, or tide, or sea; | | | I rave no more ’gainst time or fate, | | | For, lo! my own shall come to me. | | | | | I stay my haste, I make delays, | 5 | | For what avails this eager pace? | | | I stand amid the eternal ways, | | | And what is mine shall know my face. | | | | | Asleep, awake, by night or day, | | | The friends I seek are seeking me; | 10 | | No wind can drive my bark astray, | | | Nor change the tide of destiny. | | | | | What matter if I stand alone? | | | I wait with joy the coming years; | | | My heart shall reap where it has sown, | 15 | | And garner up its fruit of tears. | | | | | The waters know their own and draw | | | The brook that springs in yonder height; | | | So flows the good with equal law | | | Unto the soul of pure delight. | 20 | | | | The stars come nightly to the sky; | | | The tidal wave unto the sea; | | | Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high, | | | Can keep my own away from me. | | | | |
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