Second Hour
ALONG the dusty thoroughfare of life,Upon his daily errands walking free,Came a brave, honest man, untouched by pain,Unchilled by sight or thought of misery.
But lo! a crowd:--he stops,--with curious eyeA fainting form all pressed to earth he sees;The hard, rough burden of the bitter crossHath bowed the drooping head and feeble knees.
Ho! lay the cross upon yon stranger there,For he hath breadth of chest and strength of limb.Straight it is done; and heavy laden thus,With Jesus' cross, he turns and follows him.
Unmurmuring, patient, cheerful, pitiful,Prompt with the holy sufferer to endure,Forsaking all to follow the dear Lord,--Thus did he make his glorious calling sure.
O soul, whoe'er thou art, walking life's way,As yet from touch of deadly sorrow free,Learn from this story to forecast the dayWhen Jesus and his cross shall come to thee.
O, in that fearful, that decisive hour,Rebel not, shrink not, seek not thence to flee,But, humbly bending, take thy heavy load,And bear it after Jesus patiently.
His cross is thine. If thou and he be one,Some portion of his pain must still be thine;Thus only mayst thou share his glorious crown,And reign with him in majesty divine.
Master in sorrow! I accept my shareIn the great anguish of life's mystery.No more, alone, I sink beneath my load,But bear my cross, O Jesus, after thee.
LIFE'S mystery--deep, restless as the ocean--Hath surged and wailed for ages to and fro;Earth's generations watch its ceaseless motion,As in and out its hollow moanings flow.Shivering and yearning by that unknown sea,Let my soul calm itself, O Christ, in thee!
Life's sorrows, with inexorable power,Sweep desolation o'er this mortal plain;And human loves and hopes fly as the chaffBorne by the whirlwind from the ripened grain.Ah! when before that blast my hopes all flee,Let my soul calm itself, O Christ, in thee!
Between the mysteries of death and lifeThou standest, loving, guiding, not explaining;We ask, and thou art silent; yet we gaze,And our charmed hearts forget their drear complaining.No crushing fate, no stony destiny,O Lamb that hast been slain, we find in thee!
The many waves of thought, the mighty tides,The ground-swell that rolls up from other lands,From far-off worlds, from dim, eternal shores,Whose echo dashes on life's wave-worn strands,This vague, dark tumult of the inner seaGrows calm, grows bright, O risen Lord, in thee!
Thy piercéd hand guides the mysterious wheels;Thy thorn-crowned brow now wears the crown of power;
And when the dread enigma presseth sore,Thy patient voice saith, "Watch with me one hour."As sinks the moaning river in the seaIn silver peace, so sinks my soul in thee!
Words in this poem
- thoroughfare n.
- A passage through; a passage from one street or opening to another; an unobstructed way open to the public; a public road; hence, a frequented street. [AS. þurhfaru.]
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- sufferer n.
- One who suffers; one who endures or undergoes suffering; one who sustains inconvenience or loss; as, sufferers by poverty or sickness; men are sufferers by fire or by losses at sea.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- forecast v. t.
- To plan beforehand; to scheme; to project.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- rebel a.
- Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
- humbly adv.
- With humility; lowly.
- patiently adv.
- In a patient manner.
- ceaseless a.
- Without pause or end; incessant.
- desolation n.
- The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation. [F. désolation, L. desolatio.]
- drear n.
- Sadness; dismalness.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Second Hour is in the public domain. This text is taken from Religious Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #44778; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Second Hour, in Religious Poems (1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44778, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stowe-religious-poems/second-hour.html, id L22724.
Form and metre
Second Hour is 62 lines in 14 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 -A-A eye · seesA · cross · kneesA
- 3 -A-A there · limbA · thus · himA
- 4 -A-A pitiful · endureA · lord · sureA
- 5 ABAB wayA · freeB · dayA · theeB
- 7 -A-A one · thineA · crown · divineA
- 9 ABABCC oceanA · froB · motionA · flowB · seaC · theeC
- 10 -A-ABB power · plainA · chaff · grainA · fleeB · theeB
- 11 -A-A-- life · explainingA · gaze · complainingA · destiny · thee
- 12 -A-ABB tides · landsA · shores · strandsA · seaB · theeB
- 14 --AA sore · hour · seaA · theeA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| ALONG the dusty thoroughfare of life, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| Upon his daily errands walking free, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Came a brave, honest man, untouched by pain, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Unchilled by sight or thought of misery. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| But lo! a crowd:--he stops,--with curious eye | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A fainting form all pressed to earth he sees; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The hard, rough burden of the bitter cross | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Hath bowed the drooping head and feeble knees. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Ho! lay the cross upon yon stranger there, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| For he hath breadth of chest and strength of limb. | 10 | ·········· |
| Straight it is done; and heavy laden thus, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| With Jesus' cross, he turns and follows him. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Unmurmuring, patient, cheerful, pitiful, | 11 | ····/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Prompt with the holy sufferer to endure, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Forsaking all to follow the dear Lord,-- | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Thus did he make his glorious calling sure. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| O soul, whoe'er thou art, walking life's way, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| As yet from touch of deadly sorrow free, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Learn from this story to forecast the day | 10 | ···/˘·/··· |
| When Jesus and his cross shall come to thee. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| O, in that fearful, that decisive hour, | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Rebel not, shrink not, seek not thence to flee, | 10 | /˘········ |
| But, humbly bending, take thy heavy load, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And bear it after Jesus patiently. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| His cross is thine. If thou and he be one, | 10 | ·········· |
| Some portion of his pain must still be thine; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Thus only mayst thou share his glorious crown, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And reign with him in majesty divine. | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Master in sorrow! I accept my share | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/·· |
| In the great anguish of life's mystery. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| No more, alone, I sink beneath my load, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| But bear my cross, O Jesus, after thee. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| LIFE'S mystery--deep, restless as the ocean-- | 11 | ·/˘˘·/˘··/˘ |
| Hath surged and wailed for ages to and fro; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Earth's generations watch its ceaseless motion, | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| As in and out its hollow moanings flow. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Shivering and yearning by that unknown sea, | 10 | /˘·/˘··˘/· |
| Let my soul calm itself, O Christ, in thee! | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Life's sorrows, with inexorable power, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Sweep desolation o'er this mortal plain; | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| And human loves and hopes fly as the chaff | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Borne by the whirlwind from the ripened grain. | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Ah! when before that blast my hopes all flee, | 10 | ·········· |
| Let my soul calm itself, O Christ, in thee! | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Between the mysteries of death and life | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Thou standest, loving, guiding, not explaining; | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| We ask, and thou art silent; yet we gaze, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And our charmed hearts forget their drear complaining. | 11 | ·/··˘/··˘/˘ |
| No crushing fate, no stony destiny, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| O Lamb that hast been slain, we find in thee! | 10 | ·········· |
| The many waves of thought, the mighty tides, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The ground-swell that rolls up from other lands, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| From far-off worlds, from dim, eternal shores, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Whose echo dashes on life's wave-worn strands, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| This vague, dark tumult of the inner sea | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Grows calm, grows bright, O risen Lord, in thee! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thy piercéd hand guides the mysterious wheels; | 10 | ·····˘/˘˘· |
| Thy thorn-crowned brow now wears the crown of power; | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And when the dread enigma presseth sore, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Thy patient voice saith, "Watch with me one hour." | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| As sinks the moaning river in the sea | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| In silver peace, so sinks my soul in thee! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.