Speak Gently - David Bates (1809-1870)

Speak gently! -- It is better far

To rule by love, than fear
Speak gently -- let not harsh words mar
The good we might do here!
Speak gently! -- Love doth whisper low
The vows that true hearts bind;
nd gently !riendship"s a##ents flow;
ffe#tion"s voi#e is kind$
Speak gently to the little #hild!
Its love be sure to gain;
Tea#h it in a##ents soft and mild% --
It may not long remain$
Speak gently to the young, for they
&ill have enough to bear --
'ass through this life as best they may,
"T is full of an(ious #are!
Speak gently to the aged one,
)rieve not the #are-worn heart;
The sands of life are nearly run,
Let su#h in pea#e depart!
Speak gently, kindly, to the poor;
Let no harsh tone be heard;
They have enough they must endure,
&ithout an unkind word!
Speak gently to the erring -- know,
They may have toiled in vain;
'er#han#e unkindness made them so;
*h, win them ba#k again!
Speak gently! -- +e who gave his life
To bend man"s stubborn will,
&hen elements were in fier#e strife,
Said to them, ,'ea#e, be still$,
Speak gently! -- "t is a little thing
-ropped in the heart"s deep well;
The good, the .oy, whi#h it may bring,
/ternity shall tell$
If Rudyard iplin!
If you #an keep your head when all about you
re losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you #an trust yourself when all men doubt you,
0ut make allowan#e for their doubting too;
If you #an wait and not be tired by waiting,
*r, being lied about, don"t deal in lies,
*r, being hated, don"t give way to hating,
nd yet don"t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you #an dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you #an think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you #an meet with triumph and disaster
nd treat those two imposters .ust the same;
If you #an bear to hear the truth you"ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
*r wat#h the things you gave your life to broken,
nd stoop and build "em up with wornout tools;
If you #an make one heap of all your winnings
nd risk it on one turn of pit#h-and-toss,
nd lose, and start again at your beginnings
nd never breathe a word about your loss;
If you #an for#e your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
nd so hold on when there is nothing in you
/(#ept the &ill whi#h says to them% ,+old on,;
If you #an talk with #rowds and keep your virtue,
*r walk with kings - nor lose the #ommon tou#h;
If neither foes nor loving friends #an hurt you;
If all men #ount with you, but none too mu#h;
If you #an fill the unforgiving minute
&ith si(ty se#onds" worth of distan#e run -
1ours is the /arth and everything that"s in it,
nd - whi#h is more - you"ll be a 2an my son!
"#u $ust %#t &uit - 'n#n

&hen things go wrong; as they sometimes will,
&hen the road you3re trudging seems all uphill,
&hen the funds are low and the debts are high,
nd you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
&hen #are is pressing you down a bit,
4est if you must, but don3t you 5uit$
Life is 5ueer with its twists and turns,
s everyone of us sometimes learns,
nd many a fellow turns about,
&hen he might have won had he stu#k it out$
-on3t give up though the pa#e seems slow,
1ou might su##eed with another blow,
*ften the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
*ften the struggler has given up,
&hen he might have #aptured the vi#tor3s #up;
nd he learned too late when the night #ame down,
+ow #lose he was to the golden #rown$
Su##ess is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the #louds of doubt,
nd you never #an tell how #lose you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So sti#k to the fight when you3re hardest hit,
It3s when things seem the worst that you must not 5uit$
(e 're $ade )ne *it+ (+at (e ,#u-+ and See - )s-ar (ilde

&e are resolved into the supreme air,
&e are made one with what we tou#h and see,
&ith our heart"s blood ea#h #rimson sun is fair,
&ith our young lives ea#h spring-impassioned tree
!lames into green, the wildest beasts that range
The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is #hange$
&ith beat of systole and of diastole
*ne grand great life throbs through earth"s giant heart,
nd mighty waves of single 0eing roll
!rom nerveless germ to man, for we are part
*f every ro#k and bird and beast and hill,
*ne with the things that prey on us, and one with what we kill
*ne sa#rament are #onse#rate, the earth
6ot we alone hath passions hymeneal,
The yellow butter#ups that shake for mirth
t daybreak know a pleasure not less real
Than we do, when in some fresh-blossoming wood
&e draw the spring into our hearts, and feel that life is good
Is the light vanished from our golden sun,
*r is this daedal-fashioned earth less fair,
That we are nature"s heritors, and one
&ith every pulse of life that beats the air7
4ather new suns a#ross the sky shall pass,
6ew splendour #ome unto the flower, new glory to the grass$
nd we two lovers shall not sit afar,
8riti#s of nature, but the .oyous sea
Shall be our raiment, and the bearded star
Shoot arrows at our pleasure! &e shall be
'art of the mighty universal whole,
nd through all eons mi( and mingle with the 9osmi# Soul!$
&e shall be notes in that great Symphony
&hose #aden#e #ir#les through the rhythmi# spheres,
nd all the live &orld"s throbbing heart shall be
*ne with our heart, the stealthy #reeping years
+ave lost their terrors now, we shall not die,
The :niverse itself shall be our Immortality!$
.esus n#*s /dit+ 0ennesay

/very bit of grief and sorrow,
;esus knows;
ll the dreading of tomorrow;
;esus knows$
ll the sadness and the sighing;
!ading hopes around thee lying,
ll the burden of the #rying,
;esus knows$
ll thy bitter disappointments,
;esus knows;
8rosses - that are +is appointments;
;esus knows$
-ost though #loud thy days with worry7
Take the #ross +e bids thee #arry -
6ot for long +is aid will tarry,
;esus knows$
-oubts and fears that so oppress thee;
;esus knows;
<ain regrets that will distress thee;
;esus knows$
Lonely hours from loved ones parted,
Loss, that leaves thee broken-hearted
nd those tears that memory started,
;esus knows$
1es, thy very grief and sorrow;
;esus knows;
!rom this thought sweet sola#e borrow;
;esus knows$
+e has promised not to fail thee;
6ever leave thee nor forsake thee,
*h to trust in +im #ompletely,
;esus 9nows!
In t+e Bleak $id*inter - 1+ristina R#ssetti
In the bleak mid-winter
!rosty wind made moan,
/arth stood hard as iron,
&ater like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago$
*ur )od, +eaven #annot hold +im
6or earth sustain;
+eaven and earth shall flee away
&hen +e #omes to reign%
In the bleak mid-winter
stable-pla#e suffi#ed
The Lord )od lmighty,
;esus 8hrist$
/nough for +im, whom #herubim
&orship night and day,
breast-ful of milk
nd a manger-ful of hay;
/nough for +im, whom angels
!all down before,
The o( and ass and #amel
&hi#h adore$
ngels and ar#hangels
2ay have gathered there,
8herubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
0ut only +is mother
In her maiden bliss,
&orshipped the 0eloved
&ith a kiss$
&hat #an I give +im,
'oor as I am7
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
1et what I #an I give +im,
Is give +im my heart$
,#u!+ G#in! Bert#n Braley
So many lessons
pup must learn!
1ou get in trouble
t every turn$
1ou #an #hew a ball
To your heart"s #ontent
0ut -- #hew a shoe
nd there"s punishment!
0ark at strangers
,)ood little feller!,
0ark at a friend
It"s ,-own in the #ellar!,
0eg in the parlor
-- ,8lever stunt!,
0eg at the table
,-own you runt!,
4oll in the grass
nd they say you"re #ute
4oll in the flowers
--nd dodge a boot$
The ways of +umans
in"t got no sense
nd a pup must learn
0y e(perien#e!
,rue 2#ve3 ,+e 2#ve #f a D#! - 'n#n
)orgeously delightful
eyes of #ho#olate brown
Love so sweet and tender
whenever you"re around =
+ead that rests so softly
upon the lap within
faithful loyal friend
where love truly begins$
)entleness that whispers
speaks volumes to the heart
/yes #onvey a message
they"re everywhere you are =
'owerful yet loving
they speak a thousand words,
nd still they melt your heart within
for they truly are your world!
love forever faithful
how #an one be without
Su#h loyal devotion
and the nudging from that snout7
!or a house is not a home unless
one pauses to see
Through the eyes of he who lives
with love un#onditionally$
"#ur D#! .a4es $et-alfe
1our dog may have a pedigree$$$ s far as re#ords rea#h$$$ nd
it may be obedient$$$ To everything you tea#h$$$ *r it may be a
#ommon mutt$$$ That lingers at your feet$$$ 0e#ause somewhere
it found you, as$$$ 1ou walked along the street$$$ It may be#ome
a #hampion$$$ *r .ust a household pet$$$0ut if you love that
animal$$$ It never will forget$$$ !or every pat you give it, and$$$
!or every friendly smile$$$ 1our dog will #uddle up to you$$$ nd
follow you ea#h mile$$$ It will be truly loyal, and$$$ 'rote#t you
to the end$$$ 1es, it will even die for you$$$ To prove it is your
friend$
' 2ittle 0#4e f#r G#d 1rai! G#slin!

little home for )od e(ists inside of you and me$
It3s deep inside our brains, in a pla#e we #annot see$
Somewhere along tra#ts and in #lumps of #ells
The Lord, our )od, resides #omfortably and well$

+e shares +is home with other gods of other times and #reeds
&ho, .ust like +im, all #laim to fill important needs$
They are there when we #all as if by spe#ial magi#,
0ut when we let them help us, it often turns out tragi#$

Sometimes they take #ontrol of us .ust for their own ends
Like a lethal virus when its life upon us depends$
-id nature put these #ells inside of us for reason,
To help us through hard times and the deadly season7

!or some of us it must have helped in the past as in the present,
That3s why now we need the #omfort of the #ross, the star, the #res#ent$
This godly home, some do think, is in our temporal lobe
*r maybe our limbi# system is the address of its abode$
It really makes no differen#e to some of us you see,
0e#ause, in our brains and intelle#t, there is no va#an#y$
Be!innin!s - ,i-+en#r

The start of our .ourney was s#ary and fun
&e laughed at the strangest of things$
&e3d walk and we3d stumble
6o words would we fumble
*ur sharing was like a bird sings$
The stars in the sky were like a #lean palette
'repared for fresh paint by our 2aster$
&e prayed to the sky
nd we3d ask +im why
The nighttimes would always go faster$
*ur passion for )od is #ertainly #lear
&e know fully well +is intentions$
So we will obey,
6o #ares what they say,
This love is void of pretensions$
The trials that we3ve lived have made who we are
&e3re ready to #elebrate living$
*ur plan has been writ,
&e3ll not #hange it a bit,
*ur hearts are now ready for giving$
s we look together and study our future,
*ur family and friends surely see us$
&e3re divinely #onne#ted,
Through )od we3re prote#ted,
+is blessings will hold us and free us$
(+at If 1+rist 0ad 1#4e D#*n 5r#4 ,+e 1r#ss6 2ynn )*en
&hat if 8hrist had #ame down from the #ross7
all the tea#hing, the mira#les, the love would be lost$
If he had #alled on the angels to pull out the nails,
would the all world be #ondemned to hell7
The prophe#ies, the hope, the tears that were #ried,
would have all be#ome a terrible lie$
6o sins #ould be forgiven, no pea#e in our hearts,
no healings, no prayers answered, no new life #ould start$
+atred, greed, and selfishness would rule,
the e(ample of goodness would be for the fools$
6o one to turn to for #omfort or love,
for these #an3t e(ist without )od from above$
6o way to atone for the sins of our life,
even blood of animals would not be enough sa#rifi#e$
If he had prayed only >let this #up pass from me?
and followed man3s will, not )od3s, where would we be7
0ut ;esus did not #ome down from that #ross$
+e suffered and died so we would not be lost$
+e followed the will from )od up above
he died on that #ross to show us of love$
The one perfe#t man, no reason to die,
+e as#ended to +eaven to prepare a pla#e for you and I
)od loved us so mu#h he gave his only son,
It3s up to us to have faith and a##ept what was done$
Salvation is a )ift from )od for the lost,
;ust think how the world would be different
if 8hrist had #ame down from #ross$