I've signed the pledge! It is the bond <br />Between my God and me- <br />'Tis done!-I've broke th' enchanted wand; <br />I breathe-I live-I'm free! <br />Darkness, which was my world, is past, <br />And sounds of discord cease; <br />And what was once a chaos vast, <br />Is harmony and peace! <br /> <br /> <br />And as I turn me to that home, <br />Once cheerless to my sight, <br />Seraphic voices seem to come, <br />With welcome of delight. <br />The very faces round my hearth <br />Are sweetly new to see, <br />And woman's love, and childhood's mirth, <br />Are paradise to me. <br /> <br /> <br />O! glorious change! a beauteous world <br />Appeareth now around, <br />The evening clouds seem flags unfurled, <br />With gold and crimson bound; <br />The wood, the harvest field and hill, <br />With living splendor glow, <br />While ocean, river, stream and rill, <br />Give music as they flow! <br /> <br /> <br />O! that the veil were rent before, <br />That I might see these things, <br />And glad with gratitude adore <br />The power whence wisdom springs. <br />But mercy o'er life's pathway yet <br />Her lustre will display, <br />As suns in cloudless light will set, <br />Which led a stormy day.<br /><br />John Pierpont<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-pledge-5/
