Classic Poem

A trodden daisy, from the sward,
With tearful eye I took,
And on its ruin'd glories I,
With moving heart, did look;
For, crush'd and broken though it was,
That little flower was fair;
And oh! I loved the dying bud—
For God was there!

I stood upon the sea-beat shore—
The waves came rushing on;
The tempest raged in giant wrath—
The light of day was gone.
The sailor, from his drowning bark,
Sent up his dying prayer;
I look'd, amid the ruthless storm,
And God was there!

I sought a lonely, woody dell,
Where all things soft and sweet—
Birds, flowers, and trees, and running streams—
'Mid bright sunshine did meet:
I stood beneath an old oak's shade,
And summer round was fair;
I gazed upon the peaceful scene,
And God was there!

I saw a home—a happy home—
Upon a bridal day,
And youthful hearts were blithsome there,
And aged hearts were gay:—
I sat amid the smiling band,
Where all so blissful were—
Among the bridal maidens sweet—
And God was there!

I stood beside an infant's couch,
When light had left its eye—
I saw the mother's bitter tears,
I heard her woeful cry—
I saw her kiss its fair pale face,
And smooth its yellow hair;
And oh! I loved the mourner's home,
For God was there!

I sought a cheerless wilderness—
A desert, pathless, wild—
Where verdure grew not by the streams,
Where beauty never smiled;—
Where desolation brooded o'er
A muirland lone and bare,—
And awe upon my spirit crept,
For God was there

I looked upon the lowly flower,
And on each blade of grass;
Upon the forests, wide and deep,
I saw the tempests pass:
I gazed on all created things
In earth, in sea, and air;
Then bent the knee—for God in love
Was everywhere.