Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ALTRUISM, by DAVID STARR JORDAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ALTRUISM, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The god of things as they are
Last Line: The love of the mother and child.
Subject(s): Altruism; Religion; Theology


"The earth is not the abode of the strong alone; it is also the home of the

loving." J. Arthur Thomson.

The God of things that are
Is the God of the highest heaven;
The God of the morning star,
Of the thrush that sings at even;
The God of the storm and sunshine,
Of the wolf, the snail, and the bee,
Of the Alp's majestic silence,
Of the boundless depths of the sea;

The God of the times and the nations,
Of the planets as they roll,
Of the numberless constellations,
Of the limitless human soul.
For there is nothing small,
And naught can mighty be;
Archangels and atoms all—
Embodiments of Thee!

A single thought divine
Holds stars and suns in space;
A dream of man is Thine,
And history finds its place.
When the universe was young
Thine was the perfect thought
That life should be bound in one
By the strand of love enwrought.

In the life of the fern and the lily,
Of the dragon and the dove,
Still through the stress and struggle
Waxes the bond of love.
Out from the ruthless ages
Rises, like incense mild,
The love of the man and the woman,
The love of the mother and child.





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