The Gentle Way

He left to other men the path
      To wealth, that turns to clay;
He left to others hate and wrath,
      And sought the gentle way.

Though life was filled with joy and pain,
      With struggle and delay,
He never challenged God’s design,
      But chose the gentle way.

Temptations offered subtle cures
      For ills, and time to pay;
He stripped the mask off ugly lures,
      And kept the gentle way.

He earned the sweetest word known—peace,
      Striving day by day
To live to the last breath’s release
      In love, the gentle way.

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Photograph courtesy George Bettridge, Saans Photography, Salt Lake City