ON THE BRINK by William Lyle

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 10, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 35.

ON THE BRINK.

By William Lyle

JUST on the brink: Behind, a waste of sand; Before, the mysteries of shadow-land. What dreams come crowding on the human heart, When comes the moment Time and it must part!

What longing looks toward the old dead years, That sleep so quietly amid their tears; What sharp regrets so little has been done When much was offered wisdom might have won!

Just on the brink! Ah, now remembrance speaks Of how we climbed life's highest mountain peaks For paltry laurel, and for fancied gain, And won the prizes,—disappointment, pain!

How mean the trophies that we bring from Time, How great the glories of a land sublime, And how abashed the soul that so must think When standing, tremblingly, upon the brink.

Take care, O heart! Be watchful all the way, Life had its morn, it has its closing day; And sad the parting of that soul must be, Who wears no jewels for eternity.

—William Lyle, in Christian at Work.