Classic Poem

I have worshipped in churches and chapels,
I have prayed in the busy street;
I have sought my God and found Him
Where the waves of the ocean beat;
I have knelt in the silent forest,
In the shade of some ancient tree,
But the dearest of all my altars
Was raised at my mother's knee .

I have listened to God in His temple
I have caught His voice in the crowd;
I have heard Him speak when the breakers
Were booming long and loud;
When the winds play soft in the treetops,
My Father has talked to me;
But I never have heard Him clearer
Than I did at my mother's knee .

The things in my life that are worthy
Were born in my mother's breast;
And breathed into mine by the magic
Of the love her life expressed.
The years that have brought me to manhood
Have taken her far from me;
But memory keeps me from straying
Too far from my mother's knee .

God, make me the man of her vision,
And purge me of all selfishness!
God, keep me true to her standards,
And help me to live to bless!
God, hallow the holy impress
Of the day that used to be,
And keep me a pilgrim forever
To the shrine at my mother's knee .