52 Verses | a year of poems

I stand at gated wall, I stand and stare and sadly sigh
At how my soul should leap and soar, if ‘twere not bound by these
Unceasing ever present fears: that men will mock or scorn,
Until at last my dreams are rent and shatter’d through and through.
If days should pass and night should come without my having seen
A glimmer of success, what then would be my life? A pale,
A timid shadow of a thing? Or would it matter still?

There’s gospel hope amid the pain, and life beyond these walls,
Though oft ‘tis hard to see. Should life be spent and body worn
Till light no longer can be seen, and never had my name
Been known, still crowns I’d have to cast before his mighty throne
In spite of walls and mockery, if ev’ry rising of the sun
I did resolve to live for glory, live for joy. And so
I shall, and persevere until my glorious end arrive.