Once the Greatest said so gently
Of the children at His knee
“Of such is Heaven’s Kingdom
Suffer them to come to Me.”

In the hearts of little children
Lies a tenderness and love
For all of nature’s creatures
That is given from above.

‘Tis this feeling, wisely nurtured,
Trained to honesty and right,
Forms the first step on the pathway
Leading upward to the light.

One by one the steps are mounted,
Growing older day by day,
Spreading far and wide the lessons
They have learned along the way.

Home and school, the larger circle,
Carrying on as they began,
Hands outstretched to one another
In a brotherhood of man.

Up and up the path is winding,
Truth and love will never cease,
‘Till the goal is reached abiding
In a Universal Peace.

Published in The Messenger, #149