A Song of Living

Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.
I have sent up my gladness on wings,
to be lost in the blue of the sky.
I have run and leaped with the rain,
I have taken the wind to my breast.
My cheek like a drowsy child
to the face of the earth I have pressed.
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.

I have kissed young love on the lips,
I have heard his song to the end,
I have struck my hand like a seal
in the loyal hand of a friend.
I have known the peace of heaven,
the comfort of work done well.
I have longed for death in the darkness
and risen alive out of hell.
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.

I gave a share of my soul to the world,
when and where my course is run.
I know that another shall finish the task
I surely must leave undone.
I know that no flower, nor flint
was in vain on the path I trod.
As one looks on a face through a window,
through life I have looked on God,
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.