It Might Have Been.

Otago Witness, Issue 1784, 30 January 1886, Page 24

It Might Have Been.

Full often in our lives has come a day When, pausing where two paths divergent lay, We pondered, deep and long, which one to choose, Fearful that, either followed, we might lose The rare enjoyment of a happy hour, Or grateful inceuse of a fragrant flower. Or glimpse of some fair land where shines the sun On giant groves, and where the rivers run Through furrowed fields, and through the shadowy ranks Of cypress trees that weep upon thp bankG. We fear to lose so much ; but knowing not The changeful chances of our future lot, We set out boldly on the chosen track. And then so often comes the looking back, The baffled strife our cherished goal to win, The mournful, hopeless cry, " It might have been." Sometimes the soul, when with great sorrow wrung. Recalls a time, long fled, when lightly hung The course of iuture years in Fate's great scale And sees how, all unwittingly, an influence frail As morning dews, that on the grasses gleam. Destroyed the even balance of the beam, Unknown to us the deep decision made, And turned our path from sunshine into shade. A passing thought, a look, a trifling deed ; A word unspoken in an hour of need. Or spoken when 'twere better left unsaid ; Some written line that we by chance have read — All these can shift the scene with subtle hand, And round our future draw an iron band. We never think that such a little thing Can ever such tremendous sequence bring, Until too late, and then we backward turn The page that we have filled, and dimly burn The light of other days in vain regrets For opportunities gone by. The spirit frets Against its destiny, and deep within Our hearts we mourn for what we might have been. Ah, soul, look upward, trusting ; kiss the rod, And know there is no " might nave been" with God. From Him. whenever lowly we draw near, We learn of LoVe that casteth out all fear ; We find a Faith that, in the oblivious sea, Whelms every dread and doubt eternally ; A hope unfaltering to us is given ; A tender Charity, as broad as heaven ; A perfect Peace, a calm, untroubled Best ; Through these all other things seem right and best. We rise triumphant over death and sin, AH pain and sorrow in our joy forgot, And looking backward on our " might have been," Thank God that it was not.