Classic Poem

I KNOW thee not, lady, in feature or form,
For distance and circumstance keep us apart,
But I know that thy feelings are kindly and warm,
For the Angel of Charity sits at thy heart.

And long may the spirit remain in thy breast,
To prompt thee to actions both gentle and wise;
Together with Hope, a celestial guest,
And Faith that uplifteth the soul to the skies.

Not charity only in helping the low
With what thou canst spare from thy scrip and thy store,
But in word, thought, and judgment, that blessings may flow
From sources unopened, unheeded before.

May the cold shade of poverty keep from thy way,
Nor deaden thy efforts and sicken thy soul;
Peace watch thee by night, and contentment by day,
Till thou of life's pilgrimage draw near the goal.

And when the calm twilight of age cometh on,
And thou longest to rise from mortality's leaven,
May the summons that bids thee prepare and be gone
Be the voice of an angel, who calls thee to Heaven.