Poems

Man is not graded in categories of fitness By letter and number. As perfect expression of Mind, Reflecting divine completeness, man is always In the fullness of health and with vigor unconfined.

Crown ! Symbol of might, Of sovereignty and power. Unbroken circle which chastely tells The mandate of Love, Noble diadem which focuses The accomplishment of law! Crown of Love— Not something won and worn And then discarded In a moment of hate, of fear, Of righteous indignation, Where thought stoops down To grapple with a dream.

Here are the treasured jewels of Spirit's giving: See how this bright one sparkles in the light. Does not its splendor woo you from your sadness As would a child dancing in delight? Strangely enough, men sometimes fail to see it Until, when great adversities destroy Their fondest dreams, they look from earth to heaven And find this holy prize.

O God , Thou art my Life; I will trust in Thee and not be afraid. Thou art Life everlasting, enfolding all Thy creation; I am safe in Thy love.

How well did Jesus know the mountain's calm With hallowed peace—alone with God in prayer, Discerning false beliefs as void of law Or power to hold mankind within the grasp Of sin, with all its myriad claims of pain. One day, descending from communion's mount, He saw a pressing multitude surround A stricken lad, bowed down with grim despair.

Sometimes to human consciousness may come The errant whisper to step forth from home, To leave the haven of the Father's house For the fitful beauty of the mortal storm, The aching longing and the fevered hope, The fascination of the promise unfulfilled. And, as step by step, inexorably, The defrauding promise fails, Desolation haunts the heart of him Who sought this lonely path until, Prodigal-wise, he wakes to find His Father's house at hand And all his needs clearly defined And richly met, and knows, at last, He is his Father's own dear son—none other; He sees, in sweet relief and gratitude, God's tender care for prodigal and brother.

With what complete exactitude the trees Are mirrored in this quiet sylvan lake; Each leaf and branch repeated here to make Within the amber depths an emerald frieze. So, too, does man—God's image of perfection— Live steadfastly in effortless reflection.

Rejoice ! God's chosen witness has revealed All truth and kindled in our hearts the fires Of Christianity, no more concealed By ancient creeds; for world-awakened choirs Shall sing the song of Science, swell its theme In constant prayer and living praise. Rejoice! Truth's messenger has caught the radiant gleam Of Life; the God-crowned heart has heard Love's voice.

Does anyone to me seem less Than the expression of all good, And am I tempted to transgress The law of riftless brotherhood? Then oh, be still, my heart; abstain From criticism of this one. A voice from heaven speaks again: "This, too, is my beloved son.

In the beginning God, eternal Mind, with His own Word His boundless realm defined. The one benevolent circle of His wing, enfolding everyone and everything, arches about His works, below, above, with His protecting Father-Mother Love.