POEMS OF 1844: SONNETS


CHEERFULNESS TAUGHT BY REASON

I THINK we are too ready with complaint
In this fair world of God's. Had we no hope
Indeed beyond the zenith and the slope
Of yon gray blank of sky, we might grow faint
To muse upon eternity's constraint
Round our aspirant souls; but since the scope 
Must widen early, is it well to droop,  
For a few days consumed in loss and taint ?
O pusillanimous Heart, be comforted    
And, like a cheerful traveller, take the road
Singing beside the hedge. What if the bread
Be bitter in thine inn, and thou unshod
To meet the flints ? At least it may be said
' Because the way is short, I thank thee, God. '


These poems are selections from the 1844 work originally entitled
_Poems. By Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, Author of The Seraphim, etc. In two
volumes_. They were prepared for electronic distribution by the inforM
staff. Questions or comments should be directed to inform-editor@umail.umd.edu.