The Garden of the Lord
By Eliza H. Morton
'Tis said that in the gardens of the East
The perfume of the roses fair is such
It permeates the garments of the one
Who touches but their petals as he walks
Adown their paths, and there the fragrance stays
For days, and others recognize its source
And seek those gardens sweet to be refreshed. The garden of the Lord is full of plants,—
The lily of the valley and the rose,
The nard, acacia, and the mignonette,
All emblematic of the life. Our thoughts
And words and deeds, if pure, are perfume-filled,
A savor sweet of life to those who will,
But to the ones who shut it out, of death. O let thy life, thou child of God, be as
The fragrance of the rosebuds white!
O let
Thy lips like lilies drop the breath of words
Ambrosial as the odor from the leaves
Of balm! So shalt thou flourish in the courts
Of God and be an inspiration grand,
An uplift, and a power to other lives.