Ioy After Sorrow Poem by John Bowring

As when the deluge waves were gone,
Hills, plains, and vales in freshness burst,
And nature's earliest rainbow shone
On scenes more lovely than the first.


Loosed from the ark a heavenly dove,
The promise branch of olive bore-
Pledge of returning peace and love,
That beamed more brightly than before.


So when affliction's waters glide
From the enfranchised soul away;
More peaceful, pure, and sanctified,
The soul emerges into day.


And then, as with the olive bough
The heavenly dove of old drew near,
Some gentle words of truth will flow
In holy music on the ear.


O'er all the transient things of time
The oblivious foot of years hath trod,
But all that's sacred and sublime
Stands steadfast as the truth of God.