The Contented Man

"How good God is to me," he said;      "For have I not a mansion tall,      With trees and lawns of velvet tread,      And happy helpers at my call?      With beauty is my life abrim,      With tranquil hours and dreams apart;      You wonder that I yield to Him      That best of prayers, a grateful heart?"      "How good God is to me," he said;      "For look! though gone is all my wealth,      How sweet it is to earn one's bread      With brawny arms and brimming health.      Oh, now I know the joy of strife!      To sleep so sound, to wake so fit.      Ah yes, how glorious is life!      I thank Him for each day of it."      "How good God is to me," he said;      "Though health and wealth are gone, it's true;      Things might be worse, I might be dead,      And here I'm living, laughing too.      Serene beneath the evening sky      I wait, and every man's my friend;      God's most contented man am I . . .      He keeps me smiling to the End."