The Home Circle by The Watchman

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · May 29, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 21.

The Home Circle.

By The Watchman

HOW EASY IT IS.

How easy it is to spoil a day! The thoughtless word of a cherished friend, The selfish act of a child at play, The strength of a will that will not bend, The slight of a comrade, the scorn of a foe, The smile that is full of bitter things— They all can tarnish its golden glow, And take the grace from its airy wings.

How easy it is to spoil a day By the force of a thought we did not check; Little by little we mould the clay, And little flaws may the vessel wreck. The careless waste of a white-winged hour, That held the blessings we long had sought, The sudden failure of wealth or power, And, lo! the day is with ill inwrought.

How easy it is to spoil a life— And many are spoiled ere well begun— In home-light darkened by sin and strife, Or downward course of a cherished one; By toil that robs the form of its grace And undermines till health gives way; By the peevish temper, the frowning face, The hopes that go and the cares that stay.

A day is too long to be spent in vain; Some good should come as the hours go by; Some tangled maze may be made more plain, Some lowered glance may be raised on high. And life is too short to spoil like this; If only a prelude, it may be sweet. Let us bind together its thread of bliss, And nourish the flowers around our feet. —The Watchman.