But from whose beneficence have I received?
Say, giving, always giving,
From whose beneficence have I received?
Think twice, my friend, before you ask
The answer may leave you forbiddingly confused
Born many years before my father
I encountered my mother at Heavengate
Yes, born many years before my father
I encountered my mother at Heavengate
Life’s train is sometimes very fast
Both for the living and the late
We hang from the tree of anguish
Our legs dangle above the flood
Alas, we hang from the tree of anguish
Our legs dangle above the flood
Humanity swims in a special fluid
Much thicker than the common blood
I have never gauged my height
By the genuflection of the world
Sure, never gauged my height
By the genuflection of the world
Pride’s baleful blindness always lives beyond
The peripheral region of the humble sight
If I stand so tall, it is because
I stand on the shoulders of taller men
Yes, if I stand so tall, it is because
I stand on the shoulders of taller men
Life often writes our hidden story
With the tip of an absent pen
and then