SUNSHINE AND SHADOW

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 2, 1880

SUNSHINE AND SHADOW.

Only a bank of weeds, of simple weeds, Of sweet wild thyme and yellow, scented broom, Of tangled grass, and slender wind-blown reeds, Of brown notched ferns and tall spiked foxglove bloom. And yet a world of beauty garners there, Low-twitt'ring birds, soft scents and colors fair.

Only a narrow mound, a long, low mound, Snow-covered, 'neath a wintry, leaden sky, Unlit by moon or stars; and all around Through bare, brown trees the night winds moan and sigh. And yet a world of love lies buried there, Passion and pain, bright hopes and dull despair.

Oh, golden bank, where sunbeams glint and play, Bloom out in fragrance with a hundred flowers! Oh, narrow mound, keep till the Judgment day The mournful secrets of these hearts of ours! Then in God's light let joy and sorrow fade, For near his brightness both alike are shade. —Temple Bar.