THE RABBI'S SONGIf thought can reach to Heaven,On Heaven let it dwell,For fear that Thought be givenLike power to reach to Hell.For fear the desolationAnd darkness of thy mind,Perplex an habitationWhich thou hast left behind.Let nothing linger after—No whispering ghost remain,In wall, or beam, or rafter,Of any hate or pain:Cleanse and call home thy spirit,Deny her leave to cast,On aught thy heirs inherit,The shadow of her past.For think, in all thy sadness,What road our griefs may take;Whose brain reflect our madness,Or whom our terrors shake.For think, lest any languishBy cause of thy distressThe arrows of our anguishFly farther than we guess.Our lives, our tears, as water,Are spilled upon the ground;God giveth no man quarter,Yet God a means hath found;Though faith and hope have vanished,And even love grows dim;A means whereby His banishedBe not expelled from Him!
If thought can reach to Heaven,On Heaven let it dwell,For fear that Thought be givenLike power to reach to Hell.For fear the desolationAnd darkness of thy mind,Perplex an habitationWhich thou hast left behind.Let nothing linger after—No whispering ghost remain,In wall, or beam, or rafter,Of any hate or pain:Cleanse and call home thy spirit,Deny her leave to cast,On aught thy heirs inherit,The shadow of her past.For think, in all thy sadness,What road our griefs may take;Whose brain reflect our madness,Or whom our terrors shake.For think, lest any languishBy cause of thy distressThe arrows of our anguishFly farther than we guess.Our lives, our tears, as water,Are spilled upon the ground;God giveth no man quarter,Yet God a means hath found;Though faith and hope have vanished,And even love grows dim;A means whereby His banishedBe not expelled from Him!