Self-Conquest

Another day of Battle, it's been -
Fierce and unrelieved -
I seek in sleep my rest to win -
From Struggle - a reprieve.

I wake while dark to night renewed -
Behold! the arc of sky within my view is mine!
By dint of conquest - my possession -
And the stars - the stars that glint
From their high stations - I've won them!
My prize for conquering nations.

Perfecting the Past

Bring up the best part
Of all your days -
The hour before dawn
When the sky's a deep blue field
And a handful of stars
Remains over from night -
When cloud-winds cool
The doorway stone,
And the slow turning
From pale to grey
Signals the first shy bird
To call up the light.

These are new days
You're sending me -
Wide-moving clouds pull up
The whole sky after them,
Opening memories llike desert flowers
Surprised by the rain.
(How did I get to be in Vermont again
Early morning in the country?)
How else know how happy I was then
If time and what You wrought,
Like strong winds sweeping the sky,
Had not cleared the past
And brought only the best part back to me.

Ragtag Soldier

A soldier of the Rebbe experiencing flagging spirits, draws an analogy from a renowned event in the American Revolution.

Ragtag soldier
Seeped of strength,
Trudging the last length
Of bitter cold defeats -
The march by night -
Impossible - long and slow.
Heaven's Historian records
Your bloodied footsteps in the snow.
Those that mock and those that doubt -
What matter their marshalled might -
One small action can turn the tide.
Leave off despair -
Ceaseless your sovereign leader
Rallies the Cause,
And in the thick of night - watch!
You will yet cross your Delaware.