The Home Circle by Pansy

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 20, 1888

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 14, No. 16.

The Home Circle.

By Pansy

WATCH YOUR WORDS.

KEEP a watch on your words, my darling, For words are wonderful things; They are sweet, like the bee's fresh honey— Like the bees, they have terrible stings; They can bless, like the warm, glad sunshine, And brighten a lonely life; They can cut in the strife of anger, Like an open two-edged knife.

Let them pass through your lips unchallenged, If their errand is true and kind— If they come to support the weary, To comfort and help the blind; If a bitter, revengeful spirit Prompt the words, let them be unsaid; They may flash through a brain like lightning, Or fall on a heart like lead.

Keep them back, if they are cold and cruel, Under bar and lock and seal; The wounds they make, my darling, Are always slow to heal. May peace guard your life, and ever, From the time of your early youth, May the words that you daily utter Be the words of beautiful truth. —Pansy.