WHATEVER IS, IS BEST

I know, as my life grows older,
    And mine eyes have clearer sight--
That under each rank Wrong, somewhere,
    There lies the root of Right.
That each sorrow has its purpose--
    By the sorrowing oft unguessed,
But as sure as the Sun brings morning,
    Whatever is, is best.
I know that each sinful action,
    As sure as the night brings shade,
Is sometime, somewhere punished,
    Tho' the hour be long delayed.
I know that the soul is aided
    Sometimes by the heart's unrest,
And to grow, means often to suffer--
    But whatever is, is best.
I know there are no errors,
    In the great Eternal plan,
And all things work together
    For the final good of man.
And I know when my soul speeds onward
    In its grand, Eternal quest,
I shall say, as I look back earthward,
    Whatever is, is best.                [By Ella Wheeler Wilcox.]

The Goldsboro Messenger 4 May 1885: 6.

Courtesy of John M. Freiermuth.


Back to Poem Index