Poems (Coolidge)/I Never Knew

by Helen Elizabeth Coolidge

I NEVER KNEW

I never knew, before, the world  So beautiful could be As I have found it since I learned  All care to cast on thee; The scales have fallen from mine eyes.  And now the light I see.

I never knew how very dear  My fellowmen could be, Until I learned to help them with  A ready sympathy; Their inner lives have made me know  A broader charity.

I never knew how little things  As greater ones could be, When sanctified by love for One  Who doth each effort see; But now, a daily round of care  May win a victory.

I never knew; and still, dear Lord,  As through a glass I see, And perfect light can only come  When I shall dwell with thee; When in thy likeness I awake,  For all eternity,