"Humility"

Humility

Father—I have been humble shore,

       So when I come to Thee,

It will be meet that Thou should’st give

       Thy lowliest place to me.

Give me no rare and priceless garb,

       No crown with glittering gem,

But let me sit and patiently

       Broider Thy garment’s hem.

I shall not envy her that sings

       At morn and eve until

Her passion and her rapture make

       The very angels thrill.

I shall not envy her that sits

       Proudly at thy right side;

Give me the lowest, humblest place—

       I shall be satisfied.

I shall not envy even her

       Upon whose crowned hair

Thou layest Thy tender, gracious hand,

       And praisest, as most fair,

If once—only once—Thou wilt stoop

       To me, as to a child,

That ever after I may say:

       "He looked at me and smiled."

"Humility" as it appears in When the Birds Go North Again (1898).