Poem July 22, 1967 Issue

LOVE SPEAKS

Mary Ruth Duling

Fear said
I could not speak before this crowd,
So many strangers listening to my words,
And I untalented, untrained, unread.
I turned aside
And breathed the "Daily Prayer" ^{Manual of The Mother Church, Art. VIII, Sect. 4.}—
To free myself from sin—
The messsage leaped at me,
And fear and doubt both fled.
"Is it not sin," I thought,
"That I should fear to speak
To these, my friends,
My neighbors, all—
All children of my Father-Mother God?"
I stood with love and faith
And spoke out heart to heart
As if each were my guest.
I reached another milestone
On the upward path.
Love passed the test.