Cross Roads

"BE OF GOOD CHEER!"

     Temptation came to me today,
     And oh, I felt that I must stray
     Down primrose paths, forgetting all....
     The city's fevered, siren call
     Spoke to my soul, its whispered cry
     Said, "Live, for Youth, too soon, will die!"

     So all alone, when work was done,
     I sought the park. The setting sun
     Had left a bit of warmth for me—
     I found a bench beneath a tree,
     And sat and thought.
                           My life is hard,
     Sometimes my heart seems battle-scarred,
     With longings keen, and bitter fears,
     And want, and suffering, and tears.

     Temptation spoke, and Youth spoke back;
     The night seemed cold and grimly black,
     And every light was like a star
     That cleft the sky—they were so far,
     So very far away! And I
     Was lonely, there, beneath the sky....

     There used to be a little farm
     A tiny place, remote from harm;
     There used to be a mother frail
     And sweet, with hair as silver-pale
     As the faint moon. She heard me say
     The words when first I learned to pray....

     Above me in the silent trees,
     I heard the rustles of the breeze,
     It sounded like her step, as light
     As dreams across an endless night.
     My mother—
                   Ah, the name so sweet,
     Brought memories on noiseless feet,
     And softly in the darkness, there,
     I breathed my little childhood prayer....

     Do prayers have answers? As I prayed
     A Presence came, and gently laid
     A Hand upon my arm. I knew
     That Someone kind, and good, and true
     Was very near. Upon my soul
     A peace swept down, and left it whole.
     I felt a calm steal over me,
     The same that stilled the troubled sea
     Where Jesus walked.
                          My fears were laid,
     Temptation left me unafraid.
     And as I smiled, there in the park,
     A voice spoke through the fragrant dark.
     "Be of good cheer!" the words rang out
     Like music through the city's shout.

     And all the lights that I could see
     Were stars of home, agleam for me!