A Little Child’s Joy.
What joy it is, from day to day,
To skip and sing, and dance and play—
To breathe the air, to feel the sun,
And o’er the spangled meadows run.
What joy to move my limbs about,
To hoop and halloo, call and shout,
Among the woods, and feel as free
As any bird upon a tree.
What joy, when hungry, ’tis to eat,
What pleasure in our daily meat;
How sweet, when sleep the eyelids close,
To sink in calm and soft repose.
What joy, as morn begins to break,
Refreshed and vigorous to wake—
To feel, amid the dews and flowers,
New life bestowed on all my powers.
But who bestows this constant joy
On every little girl or boy?
’Tis God, our Father, bright and wise,
Whose goodness every joy supplies.
Then let me love and praise the Lord,
And strive to know his holy Word;
To do no wrong, and think no ill,
And evermore perform his will.
