I have toiled; but why laud for my toiling?-- There are legions who slave, Hearts calloused, souls dulled by the moiling From cradle to grave. Yet while wearied with burdens, I’m faring Afar--soul awing, Till my freed spirit soars, and is wearing The freshness of Spring. I have dwelt in the darkness of sorrow; Pity not,--neither praise Because I endured: recks the morrow Of dead yesterdays? Full many weep, seeing no glimmer Of Light to be born; But I smile through the tear-drops that shimmer With promise of morn. So extol me not for my burden, My striving, nor pain; Remember not these,--but the guerdon I strove to attain; That I fought, when needs must,--yet believing In Love as man’s goal, And kept sweet ’neath the lash, that is leaving No scar on my soul. INVOCATION TO THE SKY O Infinite Sky, set my longing Adrift on thy turquoise tide, Till earth’s sordid desires that are thronging, Are lost in Love’s ocean wide. Wash me white with thy cleansing showers, Purge my heart with Heaven’s healing dew, Till I come forth pure as the flowers, New-risen in Love--and true. O’erflow my starved soul with thy beauty,-- Fair amber and amethyst West,-- Till I quaff from the goblet of duty, Love’s nectar, immortal and blest. Break each finite fetter of sorrow, Let me weep on Love’s bosom wide Where a dawn awaiteth each morrow, And earth’s every tear is dried. Hold me close in thy silence, folding My hurt heart there on the breast Of Infinity, tenderly molding My pain to a prayer--and rest. Still all of my tired heart’s yearning In thy unfathomed spaces of blue, Lift me up to thy stars calm-burning, Enkindle my spirit anew. Illume and exalt me, thou tender Illimitable Sky bending o’er, Till I lose my dark thoughts in thy splendor, And finding my soul-pinions--soar. Loose earth-bonds that seem to enthrall me, Let me mount in thy measureless dome, Attuned to Love’s voices that call me-- “Soul, free and untrammeled, come home!” Let me drift through thy starshine, pillowed On violet velvet shade, Where the downy cloudlets lie billowed, At peace in Love’s arms--unafraid. Let me float with thy clouds, soft-sailing,-- As buoyant and glad as they,-- Through thy sapphire sea that’s unveiling The grace of a golden day. Dear Sky, love me! Fill my appealing With Love that’s eternal--like thee; Till I sing and rejoice in its healing, And rise in God’s blue--set free! Transcriber's Note • Small caps converted to ALL CAPS. • Table of contents added by the transcriber for reader convenience.