~Ministering Angels~
Angels of light, spread your bright wings and keep
Near me at morn;
Nor in the starry eve, nor midnight deep,
Leave me forlorn,
From all dark spirits of unholy power
Guard my weak heart,
Circle around me in each perilous hour,
And take my part
From all foreboding thoughts and dangerous fears,
Keep me secure;
Teach me to hope, and through the bitterest tears
Still to endure.
If lonely in the road so fair and wide
My feet should stray,
Then through a rougher, safer pathway guide
Me day by day.
Should my heart faint at its unequal strife,
O still be near!
Shadow the perilous sweetness of this life
With holy fear.
Then leave me not alone in the bleak world,
Where'er I roam,
And at the end, with your bright wings unfurled,
O take me home!
ADELAIDE A. PROCTER