AS YE WOULD by Edith V. Bradt

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 23, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 43.

“AS YE WOULD.”

By Edith V. Bradt

IF I should see A brother languishing in sore distress, And I should turn and leave him comfortless, When I might be A messenger of hope and happiness— How could I ask to have what I denied, In my own hour of bitterness supplied?

If I might share A brother’s load along the dusty way, And I should turn and walk alone that day, How could I dare, When in the evening watch I knelt to pray, To ask for help to bear my pain and loss, If I had heeded not my brother’s cross?

If I might sing A little song to cheer a fainting heart, And I should seal my lips and sit apart, When I might bring A bit of sunshine for life’s ache and smart— How could I hope to have my grief relieved, If I kept silent when my brother grieved?

And so I know That day is lost wherein I fail to lend A helping hand to some wayfaring friend; But if it show A burden lightened by the cheer I sent, Then do I hold the golden hours well spent, And lay me down to sleep in sweet content.

—Edith V. Bradt.