The Gift of Day
by Wilhelmina Stitch
The very minute I awake,
I find, and this is every morn,
A precious gift for me to take
The gift of Day, newborn.
A bowl, translucent, glowing, bright,
Is this great gift God proffers me,
My hands stretch forth with keen delight
And clasp it eagerly.
O gift, O precious gift of Day!
O vessel rare for me to fill!
Let me not stumble on the way,
I would not use you ill;
But I would fill you to the brim
With things befitting God's own bowl,
With first a song of praise to Him
From my most grateful soul.
With all the beauty I can find,
With flowers that grow along the way,
With tender little deeds and kind,
With songs and laughter gay.
O heart, be gentle! do not slight
This gift 'tis yours to use at will;
Then when the shadows fall to-night
It will be lovely still.
'Wilhelmina Stitch' was the most successful pen name of Ruth Collie. She was a newspaper poet, writing daily poems for newspapers, and became one of the most wildly popular poets of her day. She died on March 6, 1936.
