The
path of duty I clearly trace,
I
stand with conscience face to face,
And all her pleas allow;
Calling
and crying the while for grace,-
"Some
other time, and some other place;
Oh, not today; not now!"
I
know 't is a demon boding ill,
I
know I have power to do if I will,
And I put my hand to the plow;
I
have fair sweet seeds in my barn, and lo !
When
all the furrows are ready to sow,
The voice says,"Oh, not now!"
My
peace I sell at the price of woe;
In
heart and in spirit I suffer so,
The anguish wrings my brow;
But
still I linger and cry for grace,-
"Some
other time, and some other place;
Oh, not today; not now!"
I
talk to my stubbornheart and say,
"The
work I must do Iwill do today;
I will make to God a vow;
And
I will not rest and I will not sleep
Till
the vow I vowed I rise and keep;"
And the demons cries,"Not now!"
And
so the days and the years go by,
And
so I register lie upon lie,
And break with Heaven my vow;
For
when I would boldly take my stand,
This
terrible demons stays my hand,-
"Oh, not today; not now!"
-Alice Cary.
R&H 220
