Poems (Howard)/Be Kind to the Aged

by Hattie Howard

Be Kind to the Aged.

Be kind to the aged who sorrow have known,
 Whose way has been rugged and steep;
Now, over the hill, who are treading alone
 The valley where shadows lie deep.

With reverence look on their whitening hair
 That a halo of glory appears;
A beautiful crown like an aureole fair
 Bequeathed to the fullness of years.

Be kind to the aged whose counsels have been
 Like blessings from patriarch-lips;
A richer possession than any within
 The wealth-laden Orient-ships.

Ere long we shall miss them, for soon it must be
 Their tottering footsteps shall reach
The shore of that limitless, unexplored sea
 That breaks on Eternity's beach.

Be kind to the aged—the cycle of Time
 As swiftly-revolving shall bring
The winter of Life with its desolate rime
 To you, who are now in its spring.

Then brighten their pathway, their burden take on
 Till Life with its trials be past;
'Twill be a sweet thought when from earth they are gone,
 And Heaven will bless you at last.