A THORN by Helen Hart Woodworth

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 12, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 11.

A THORN.

By Helen Hart Woodworth

I AM only the thorn that grows On the stem of a rose; Not a petal to make me fair, No beauty that means despair To plainer flowers, and yet On the rose stem I was set; Some purpose there must be, Some plan fulfilled in me; I know some good was meant, And so I am content.

Winter, and then the spring; Summer and harvesting; Then north wind, cold, and sleet With no hint of a summer sweet; And out of the winter's chill some morn, With a thorn-set stem, a rose is born— I am only the thorn.

—Helen Hart Woodworth.