Poems :: IN THE MORNING.

IN THE MORNING.

[Annie McRea, Paducah, 1902.]

I looked at the hills in the morning,
Sweet valleys lay smiling between.
Then I lifted my soul to the Blessed,
Whose love in His mercies are seen.
The sun brought a flush as of roses
To the green earth, and Heaven so blue,
But a cloud hid the beautiful sunlight,
And the sparkle died out of the dew.

I prayed in my heart to the Savior
That His love might illumine my way,
That the sunshine and joy of His presence
Would brighten each wearisome day;
That strength for each duty be given,
And each action be prompted by love,
Till at last by the brightness of Heaven
I should dwell with the angels above.

The joy that to me has been given
In language can never be told,
And my dream of the glory of Heaven
Is of Christ in the gateway of gold;
And I pray that no cloud may o’ershadow
The faith that my heart holds as true,
Like the darkening clouds in the morning,
When the sparkle died out of the dew.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] McCool was shot the same night by Major Bassett’s men. He was a ruffian of the lowest type, and had terrorized his neighborhood for years.

[B] The fourteen lines following are of course a later interpolation.

[C] Paul Kruger, the unfortunate President of the Transvaal or South African Republic, offered $4,000,000 in diamonds to Leo XIII for his influence in the war with the British Government which overthrew his reign. The proffer was refused.

[D]

“This eloquent appeal stirs the soul like the soaring notes of the bugle.”
—Prentice.

[E] On a flag presentation by citizens of Nashville to the troops.

[F] Honorable James A. McKenzie, late eloquent Congressman from the second Kentucky district, thus beautifully characterized Mrs. Cleveland.

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