By Charles Rosher,
V. H. Frater Aequo Animo, Poems, 1897
Illustrated by Moina Mathers
(Copyright © R.A. Gilbert. All rights reserved.)
Whence comest thou, O child of earth!
With eager and wistful eyes?
Hither I come from the Land of Mirth,
Where Pleasure is all they prize.
Whither art mending, maiden sweet!
Arrayed in thy robes of white?
“Into the Darkness with trembling feet
And vainly I seek the Light.”
“Seeker of light! I’ve heard men tell
That Sorrow is Pleasure’s Bride;
That Pain and Death, where Mirth doth dwell,
Like tyrants rule side by side.”
Truly they told thee–but I would seek
That Wisdom which Freedom brings,
And fain would soar to its light, but weak
And untrained are earthly wings.
Canst guide me to where such freedom is,
And Faith shall dissolve in sight?
Follow into the Darkness, child! I wis
Therein thou shalt find the Light.
“The Light shineth in the Darkness and the Darkness comprehendeth it not.” John i. 5.