 | Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious |  |
22
GROWING OLD.
“Hast thou come with the heart of thy childhood back?”
Mrs. Hemans.
Mrs. Hemans.
Do I retain my childhood's heart? you ask.
No, but far better! I have put away
The childish things and schoolboy's slavish task,
That filled the opening hours of life's long day;
And whether smooth or thorny be the way
Of life, which I so many years have trod,
I find it lightened by a heavenly ray—
I find it lead to freedom and to God.
And He will bear me safely through the wild,
Whatever joy or sorrow He may send;
All is in kindness sent; and reconciled,
And not a stranger, I shall wait the end;
Of God no more a servant, but a child;
Of Christ no more a servant, but a friend.
| Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious | |