The Pledge

I've signed the pledge! It is the bond
Between my God and me--
'Tis done!--I've broke th' enchanted wand;
I breathe--I live--I'm free!
Darkness, which was my world, is past,
And sounds of discord cease;
And what was once a chaos vast,
Is harmony and peace!


And as I turn me to that home,
Once cheerless to my sight,
Seraphic voices seem to come,
With welcome of delight.
The very faces round my hearth
Are sweetly new to see,
And woman's love, and childhood's mirth,
Are paradise to me.


O! glorious change! a beauteous world
Appeareth now around,
The evening clouds seem flags unfurled,
With gold and crimson bound;
The wood, the harvest field and hill,
With living splendor glow,
While ocean, river, stream and rill,
Give music as they flow!


O! that the veil were rent before,
That I might see these things,
And glad with gratitude adore
The power whence wisdom springs.
But mercy o'er life's pathway yet
Her lustre will display,
As suns in cloudless light will set,
Which led a stormy day.