ONLY.
ONLY a seed; but it chanced to fall
In a little cleft of a city wall,
And taking root, grew bravely up
Till a tiny blossom crowned its top.
Only a flower; but it chanced that day
That a burdened heart passed by the way;
And the message that through the flower was sent,
Brought the weary soul a sweet content.
For it spake of the lilies so gaily clad,
And the vexed heart grew strangely glad
At the thought of a tender care, over all,
That noted even a sparrow's fall.
Only a thought, but the work it wrought
Can never by tongue or pen be taught;
For it ran through a life, like a thread of gold,
And the life bore fruit a hundred-fold.
Only a word; but 'twas spoken in love,
With a whispered prayer to the Lord above:
And the angels in Heaven rejoiced once more;
For a new-born soul entered in by "the Door.”
