Poems (Harper, 1898)/A Grain of Sand
A GRAIN OF SAND.
Do you see this grain of sandLying loosely in my hand?Do you know to me it broughtJust a simple loving thought?When one gazes night by nightOn the glorious stars of light,Oh how little seems the spanMeasured round the life of man.
Oh! how fleeting are his yearsWith their smiles and their tears;Can it be that God does careFor such atoms as we are?Then outspake this grain of sand"I was fashioned by His handIn the star lit realms of spaceI was made to have a place.
"Should the ocean flood the world,Were its mountains 'gainst me hurled,All the force they could employWouldn't a single grain destroy;And if I, a thing so light,Have a place within His sight;You are linked unto his throneCannot live nor die alone.
In the everlasting armsMid life's dangers and alarmsLet calm trust your spirit fill;Know He's God, and then be still."Trustingly I raised my headHearing what the atom said;Knowing man is greater farThan the brightest sun or star.