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.’
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Below is a scan of a photo I took in 1985. I believe it’s from the top of Notre Dame in Paris, looking north (?) – I suppose I could figure it out using googleearth if I worked at it. Note the yon gray blank of sky. That’s how I remember my time in Paris that year.
