Classic Poem

Once I lost my temper,
Threw it quite aside,
Oh, I did not realize,
Part of me had died.

Oh, I did not realize,
That swift anger's fire,
Burns the heart that reaches
Toward the sky — and higher.

Once I kept my temper,
When things tried my soul;
Kept it sweet and shining,
Wonderful and whole.

Then — and this is truthful —
All the way I trod,
Seemed to lead me brightly,
Toward the throne of God.