I'm only a boy, but before me lie
Life's paths untrod, and a sunny sky
Bends o'er the paths, and smiles on me.
And under its blue serene, I see
Two ways stretch out, one, narrow and straight;
The other, broad, and an open gate
Beckons me on, and smiling and sweet
Are the Heavens fair, and down at my feet
Fair flowers bloom, and the grasses nod
On the level slope of the emerald sod.
In the bosky dells my eyes discern
The feathery flakes of the filmy fern,
The birds' low song in the shadows deep
Lull my fancies to dreamful sleep.
The sun-flecked slopes and the open gate
Seem for my eager feet to wait.
But the narrow way, though rough and steep,
Has a charm for me, and my senses leap
As I view the heights that seem to rise
From the lowly earth, to the sunlit skies.
Though rough and steep, and with danger fraught,
Though the glorious heights with my life be bought—
I'll turn from the broad road leading down,
And seek the heights and the laurel crown.
From the blood-stained prints of my thorn-pierced feet,
Spring wonderful flowers, whose fragrance sweet,
Borne on the breath of the balmy air,
Charms my heart and dispels my care.
The beetling crags that block my way,
The storm cloud's gloom, where the lightnings play,
But give me strength for each new emprise,
And joys my soul as I slowly rise;
For snares and cliffs, to a boy like me
Should only incentives to action be.
I'm bound to rise—If I earnestly try
I know I can reach the hilltops high.
But I have no time to loiter and play,
On the tempting slopes of the downward way,
But must follow the path, by good men trod,
To rise to the heights of life and God.