minds as quiet as time

How long we wait, with minds as quiet as time,

Like sentries on a tower.

How long we watch, by night, like the astronomers.

Heaven, when will we hear you sing,

Arising from our grassy hills,

And say: "The dark is done, and Day

Laughs like a Bridegroom in His tent, the lovely sun!"

How long we wait with minds as dim as ponds,

While stars swim slowly homeward in the water of our west!

Heaven, when will we hear you sing?

                                                                                 -Thomas Merton