When first I saw the gleaming crest
Of temp'rance's silver star,
I watch'd it, till its radiance blest
Illum'd the world afar:
It rose in glory, and its rays
Shone bright at morn and even,
And promise gave of happier days
On Earth;-and hopes of Heaven.
I marked its glory-beaming light,
As up the heavens it sprung,
While o'er the Earth the clouds of night
No longer darkly hung;
And those bright rays of heavenly birth,
To erring man were given,
To wean his spirit from the Earth,
And point his way to Heaven.
Oh! may that bright and shining light
Still beam the wide world o'er,
To guide man's wand'ring footsteps right,
Till time shall be no more.
And then, when death the light of life
From this dull clay has riven,
The soul may soar in glad relief,
To yon bright home in Heaven.
John Pierpont
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-light-of-temperance/
