Whittier's Poems

Today I found in my book collection a beautifully bound book, over a hundred years old, titled:

"Whittier's Complete Poems."

John Greenleaf Whittier was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. When I opened and read his prose I was filled with joy at the beauty and goodness of his writings. After taking several literature classes and reading poetry by men whose lives were usually in shambles, and whose poetry was often dark and hopeless, I enjoyed the stories he tells and hearing of God amongst them all.

Here is one stanza from a poem entitled "Barclay of Ury," I have yet to fully figure out what the poem is talking about, but here is the stanza that struck me:

Through the dark and stormy night
Faith beholds a feeble light
Up the blackness streaking;
Knowing God's own time is best,
In a patient hope I rest
For the day's full-breaking!

Another one of his poems I love is called "Kathleen," it can be read at:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Kathleen

Poems are much better read aloud. I hope you enjoy!