To Children At The Hearth

It is you, my dears, and the gladness You bring to the tasks to do, Who can lessen this old world’s sadness By as much as the joy of you. It is you, my dears, and your glory Of sunshine and word and song Who can make life a sweeter story Wherever you smile along.

It is you, my dears, with your beauty And freshness of mind and heart Who must offer your share of duty And play yet a nobler part. For the world, it has need of beauty And youth that is fine and new, And the call you may hear to duty Is for you, my dears--just you.

It is you, my dears, that the sages Have written their counsels to, It is you, my dears, that the ages Leave legacies to--just you. And remember that every letter That Wisdom has graven through The years, so the world be better, Is for you, my dears--just you.

It is you who must be the bravest To fight, if the cause be true; It is you who must be the gravest In word and in deed--just you. It is you who must be the strongest To stand till the battle’s through, And you who must smile the longest And never despair--just you.

It is you, my dears, and your glory Of gladness and youth and smile, Who shall help to say if the story Of life and the world’s worth while. For the years of all time have shaped us, And the lore of the Ages, too, And to say if the Truth’s escaped us Is for you, my dears--just you.