94

 94. Desolation  O, SAY not thou art left of God,  Because His tokens in the sky Thou canst not read: this earth He trod  To teach thee He was ever nigh.  He sees, beneath the fig-tree green,  Nathaniel con His sacred lore; Shouldst thou thy chamber seek, unseen,  He enters through the unopen'd door.  And when thou liest, by slumber bound,  Outwearied in the Christian fight, In glory, girt with Saints around,  He stands above thee through the night.  When friends to Emmaus bend their course,  He joins, although He holds their eyes: Or, shouldst thou feel some fever's force,  He takes thy hand, He bids thee rise.  Or on a voyage, when calms prevail,  And prison thee upon the sea, He walks the wave, He wings the sail,  The shore is gain'd, and thou art free.

   Off Sardinia .  June 18, 1833.