The past is gone beyond recall,
The future kindly veils its face;
Today we live, today is all
We have or need, our day of grace.
The world is God's, and hence 'tis plain
That only wrong we need to fear;
'Tis ours to live, come joy or pain,
To make more blessed each New Year.
PRODIGALS
We tarry in a foreign land,
With pleasure's husks elate,
When robe and ring and Father's hand
At home our coming wait.
DEEP-ROOTED
Fierce Boreas in his wildest glee
Assails in vain the yielding tree
That, rooted deep, gains strength to bear,
And proudly lifts its head in air.
When loss or grief, with sharp distress,