Be Kind to the Aged.
Be kind to the aged who sorrow have known,
Whose way has been rugged and steep;
Now, over the hill, who are treading alone
The valley where shadows lie deep.
Whose way has been rugged and steep;
Now, over the hill, who are treading alone
The valley where shadows lie deep.
With reverence look on their whitening hair
That a halo of glory appears;
A beautiful crown like an aureole fair
Bequeathed to the fullness of years.
That a halo of glory appears;
A beautiful crown like an aureole fair
Bequeathed to the fullness of years.
Be kind to the aged whose counsels have been
Like blessings from patriarch-lips;
A richer possession than any within
The wealth-laden Orient-ships.
Like blessings from patriarch-lips;
A richer possession than any within
The wealth-laden Orient-ships.
Ere long we shall miss them, for soon it must be
Their tottering footsteps shall reach
The shore of that limitless, unexplored sea
That breaks on Eternity's beach.
Their tottering footsteps shall reach
The shore of that limitless, unexplored sea
That breaks on Eternity's beach.
Be kind to the aged—the cycle of Time
As swiftly-revolving shall bring
The winter of Life with its desolate rime
To you, who are now in its spring.
As swiftly-revolving shall bring
The winter of Life with its desolate rime
To you, who are now in its spring.
Then brighten their pathway, their burden take on
Till Life with its trials be past;
'Twill be a sweet thought when from earth they are gone,
And Heaven will bless you at last.
Till Life with its trials be past;
'Twill be a sweet thought when from earth they are gone,
And Heaven will bless you at last.