Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.

Gerald Massey b. 1828

His Banner over Me

SURROUNDED by unnumber’d foes,

Against my soul the battle goes!

Yet though I weary, sore distrest,

I know that I shall reach my rest:

I lift my tearful eyes above,—

His banner over me is love.

Its sword my spirit will not yield,

Though flesh may faint upon the field;

He waves before my fading sight

The branch of palm,—the crown of light;

I lift my brightening eyes above,—

His banner over me is love.

My cloud of battle-dust may dim,

His veil of splendor curtain him!

And in the midnight of my fear

I may not feel him standing near;

But, as I lift mine eyes above,

His banner over me is love.