They prayed it would not rain,

And my heart began to cry

Like the soulless desert’s sigh

That thirsts for drink in vain.

The cloudless, azure sky

Of brilliant, sun-crowned days,

The easy, thoughtless praise,

Where grassy meadows lie

Cannot forever keep.

The rain clouds will arise

And shroud the blissful skies–

The heavens too must weep.

If we alone were wise,

The pelting rains would end;

The sun, as faithful friend,

Would ever bless our eyes.

But I need the rain and know,

In shadows high above,

A greater kind of love

That gives all days its glow.

It gives us sun and rain,

Well-fitted as they come,

Perfecting beauty from

The joys and from the pain.