 | Short poems for short people |  |
THE ANGEL'S GIFT.
Last night, while the world was sleeping,
A beautiful angel came down,
Wearing a great gold cross on her breast,
On her brows a lilied crown.
A beautiful angel came down,
Wearing a great gold cross on her breast,
On her brows a lilied crown.
She passed full many a mansion
Where slept the rich and the great,
Pausing at length by a cottage-door—
A cottage of lowly state.
Where slept the rich and the great,
Pausing at length by a cottage-door—
A cottage of lowly state.
And there, in an humble chamber,
She leaned o'er an humble bed,
Saying sweet words in a woman's ear,
And these were the words she said:
She leaned o'er an humble bed,
Saying sweet words in a woman's ear,
And these were the words she said:
“I have brought you a gift more costly
Than jewels or gold could bring—
A gift you must keep, for Heaven's own sake,
Beloved like a precious thing.
Than jewels or gold could bring—
A gift you must keep, for Heaven's own sake,
Beloved like a precious thing.
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“For surely, if well you use it,
This gift of mine shall become
A blessing whose worth no human lips
Have power with words to sum.”
This gift of mine shall become
A blessing whose worth no human lips
Have power with words to sum.”
Then the angel passed from the cottage,
And starward his white wings spread,
While dawn, in the dim and distant east,
Was staining the low skies red.
And starward his white wings spread,
While dawn, in the dim and distant east,
Was staining the low skies red.
And ere that day's sun was risen
The woman had seen with joy,
All sleepy and bonny and pink at her side,
A wee little baby boy!
The woman had seen with joy,
All sleepy and bonny and pink at her side,
A wee little baby boy!
| Short poems for short people | |