For the Time Being, Part 2

A couple of days ago, I posted the opening poem of Auden's 
For the Time Being, A Christmas Oratorio.

Now, the ending portion:

To those who have seen 
The Child, however dimly, however incredulously,
The Time Being is, in a sense, the most trying time of all. 
For the innocent children who whispered so excitedly
Outside the locked door where they knew the presents to be 
Grew up when it opened.  Now, recollecting that moment 
We can repress the joy, but the guilt remains conscious;
Remembering the stable where for once in our lives
Everything became a You and nothing was an It. 
And craving the sensation but ignoring the cause, 
We look round for something, no matter what, to inhibit 
Our self-reflection, and the obvious thing for that purpose 
Would be some great suffering.  So, once we have met the Son,
We are tempted ever after to pray to the Father;
"Lead us into temptation and evil for our sake."
They will come, all right, don't worry; probably in a form
That we do not expect, and certainly with a force
More dreadful than we can imagine.  In the meantime
There are bills to be paid, machines to keep in repair,
Irregular verbs to learn, the Time Being to redeem 
From insignificance.  The happy morning is over,
The night of agony still to come; the time is noon:
When the Spirit must practice his scales of rejoicing 
Without even a hostile audience, and the Soul endure
A silence that is neither for nor against her faith 
That God's Will will be done, That, in spite of her prayers,
God will cheat no one, not even the world of its triumph.

(1944)