The Birthday Gift

On my day of birth
I got a wonderful book,
As my first b’day gift.
It was light and lovely
Decked with ribbon and roses.
On each day I turned,
One of the golden leaves
Of that beautiful book;
Each leaf presented me
With a tale fresh and new.
If one rang the bells of joy
The other brought tears;
If one had flowers
The other had thorns.
Today too, I read through one,
And that taught me how-
To encounter darkness with
A smile sweet and simple.
Though I know not when
The last leaf will turn,
It is my ardent wish to read
More and more, hundreds
And thousands more
From that Book, the life,
Which was my Lord’s
Greatest gift for me !!!