Hope Beneath the Waters

'I cannot mount to heaven beneath this ban;
Can Christian hope survive so far below
The level of the happiness of man?
Can angels' wings in these dark waters grow?
A spirit voice replied, 'From bearing right
Our sorest burthens, comes fresh strength to bear;
And so we rise again towards the light,
And quit the sunless depths for upper air:
Meek patience is as diver's breath to all
Who sink in sorrow's sea, and many a ray
Comes gleaming downward from the source of day,
To guide us reascending from our fall;
The rocks have bruised thee sore, but angels' wings
Grow best from bruises, hope from anguish springs.'