I am footsore and very weary,But I travel to meet a Friend:

The way is long and dreary,But I know that it soon must end.

He is travelling fast like the whirlwind,And though I creep slowly on,We are drawing nearer,nearer,And the journey is almost done.

Through the heat of many summers,Through many a springtime rain,Through long autumns and weary winters,I have hoped to meet him,in vain.

I know that he will not fail me,So I count every hour chime,Every throb of my own heart's beating,That tells of the flight of Time.

On the day of my birth he plighted His kingly word to me:-I have seen him in dreams so often,That I know what his smile must be.

I have toiled through the sunny woodland,Through fields that basked in the light;And through the lone paths in the forest I crept in the dead of night.

I will not fear at his coming,Although I must meet him alone;He will look in my eyes so gently,And take my hand in his own.

Like a dream all my toil will vanish,When I lay my head on his breast -But the journey is very weary,And he only can give me rest!