“Humility”



Father—I have been humble here,
       So when I come to Thee,
It will be meet that Thou should’st give
       Thy lowliest place to me.
Give me no rare and priceless garb,
       No crown with glittering gem,
But let me sit and patiently
       Broider Thy garment’s hem.
 
I shall not envy her that sings
       At morn and eve until
Her passion and her rapture make
       The very angels thrill.
I shall not envy her that sits
       Proudly at thy right side;
Give me the lowest, humblest place—
       I shall be satisfied.
 
I shall not envy even her
       Upon whose crowned hair
Thou layest Thy tender, gracious hand,
       And praisest, as most fair,
 
If once—only once—Thou wilt stoop
       To me, as to a child,
That ever after I may say:
       “He looked at me and smiled.”
 
“Humility” as it appears in When the Birds Go North Again (1898).