Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse/Address to a New Month
ADDRESS TO A NEW MONTH.
Sunday, November 1st, 1812.
HAIL, stranger! thou art welcome! for I know
Thou cam'st to guide me on my way, and haste
My journey to my home. Thro' paths unknown
Dark with the sable of uncertainty,
Thou point'st me, and I follow undismay'd;
For all thy course is mark'd and rul'd by Him
Who cannot err. Oh! that his pow'r might make
Me active every hour, patient and kind,
Grateful and cheerful, seeking to do good,
Forgetting all the things that lie[1] behind,
And pressing firmly onward in the path
Of duty and of peace. O stranger fair!
Who com'st to aid me on this little stage
Of life's uncertain road, thy smile is soft,
And thy first deed is kind; for first thou shew'st
To me the brow of morn, gilded and bright,
And as I gaze thou whisper'st in my ear
That it is holy: so thou guid'st my steps
To God's own temple, where the gathering crowds
Resort to seek his face and chant his praise.