The Anchoret

I saw thy soul stand in the moon
Last night, the live-long night —
The jewels of Heaven in thy hand,
Thy brow with cherub coronal spanned,
And thou in God's light.

Hell is the demons' gulfed lair
Beneath the flaming bars;
And Heaven, whereto thou goest soon,
Beyond thy dwelling in the moon
And beyond the stars.

But Purgatory, thine old abode
Since Life's impure delay,
Towers athwart the circling air
Whose topmost Heaven-reaching stair
Thou dost tread to-day.

Thy soul within the moon doth stand —
How many years of toil !
And I must bear a greater load,
And I must climb a harder road
Ere God me assoil !