The Way to London Town
By Mary Farrah
“One foot up and the other foot down,
That’s the way to London Town,”
— Old Nursery Rhyme. It was only a simple nursery song,
But it cheered my heart one day
When the task seemed hard, and the journey long,
And the goal was far away;
For just like the darling toddler small
Who is learning to walk alone,
One step at a time, and that is all
We need for the end unknown. Then leave to the morrow the morrow’s share
In the task you have to do,
Content if to-day you can bravely bear
Its burden with courage true;
With anxious haste you will strive in vain,
On life’s road your feet will tire,
But patience and pluck will surely gain
The prize of the heart’s desire. So whatever your London Town may be,
Toil on with a purpose high,
And step by step, as the way you see,
You will reach it by and by.
For one foot up and the other foot down,
With a heart that’s true and bold,
Is still the way to our London Town,
As in nursery days of old,
— Mary Farrah, in Good Words.