The Book of Worship ‎#420

420. Alas! how poor and little worth

1 Alas! how poor and little worth
Are all those glittering toys of earth
That lure us here!
Dreams of a sleep that death must break;
Alas! before it bids us wake,
They disappear.

2 Where is the strength that spurned decay,
The step that rolled so light and gay,
The heart's blithe tone?
The strength is gone, the step is slow,
And joy grows weariness and woe
When age comes on.

3 Our birth is but a starting-place;
Life is the running of the race,
And death the goal:
There all those glittering toys are brought;
That path alone, of all unsought,
Is found of all.

4 Oh let the soul its slumbers break,
Arouse its senses, and awake
To see how soon
Life, like its glories, glides away,
And the stern footsteps of decay
Come stealing on.

Text Information

• First Line: Alas! how poor and little worth
• Meter: L. C. M.
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1867
• Topic: Life: Its Duties and Object

Tune Information

(No tune information)