"How shall I a habit break?"
As you did that habit make.
As you gathered you must lose;
As you yielded, now refuse.
Thread by thread the strands we twist,
Till they bind us hand and wrist;
Thread by thread the patient hand
Must untwine, are free we stand;
As we builded, stone by stone,
We must toil, unhelped, alone,
Till the wall is overthrown.
But remember, as we try,
Lighter every test goes by.
Wading in, the stream grows deep,
Toward the centre's downward sweep;
Backward turn, each step ashore
Shallower is than that before.
Ah, the precious years we waste,
Levelling what we raised in haste,—
Doing what must be undone,
are content or Love be won!
First, across the gulf we cast
Kite-borne threads, till lines are past.
And habit builds the bridge at last.
