Classic Poem

Seek not afar for beauty. Lo! it glows
In dew-wet grasses all about thy feet;
In birds, in sunshine, childish faces sweet,
In stars, and mountain summits topped with snows.

Go not abroad for happiness. For see!
It is a flower that blossoms by thy door.
Bring love and justice home; and then, no more,
Thou'lt wonder in what dwelling joy may be.

Dream not of noble service elsewhere wrought:
The simple duty that awaits thy hand
Is God's voice uttering a divine command;
Life's common deeds build all that saints have thought.

In wonder-workings, or some bush aflame,
Men look for God, and fancy him concealed.
But in earth's common things he stands revealed;
While grass and flowers and stars spell out his name.

The paradise men seek, the city bright
That gleams beyond the stars for longing eyes,
Is only human goodness in the skies.
Earth's deeds, well done, glow into heavenly light.