Nor can I forget the ages-old wisteria
Clambering over gray palace walls,
Nor the gamut of color in the azaleas there—
Pink, orange, cerise, yellow—
In pale green foliage.
Joy
When your heavens are as brass
And joy has fled, and
Every door is shut,
Do not forget the one
That opens inward—
The door of your heart,
Whose handle is on the inside
And which only you can open.
Go out through that door
And find one whose skies
Are darker than yours,
Whose burden is heavier;
Bring him back with you
Into your heart.
There can you cleanse him with love,
And clothe him with garments of truth,
And put the ring of his unity
With God upon his hand;
There feed him with the word,
And let him go.
Then will your heavens be
As radiant light,
And your happiness and joy
Such as never were
On land or sea.
Twilight Song Service
(“B.A.” Chestnut Hill, Mass.)
In the deepening twilight there floats
From the chapel above, the loved hymns of healing—
Hymns of comfort, of courage, welling up from grateful hearts
And bringing reassurance of God’s power
To one who listens below in silent prayer and praise.
Great peace of God, be with us all!
Great peace of God encompass us!
Speak to the waves tonight, Father, that they stand.
Stretch forth Thy hand and stay their power,
Calm them, that they overwhelm not.
For Thy voice is “mightier than the noise of many waters,
Yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.”
This Thou canst do, O my God.