Is there anything more lovely than songbirds in sun-brushed boughs
Or soft beams that first awaken dreams and make the streams to run
Is there anything more beautiful than wildflowers on the hill
That pierce the steep with purples deep and violet in the sun
Yet what could be more joyous than nighttime ‘neath dazzling skies
As singsong flames and fireflies frame forests with their glow
Or the moonlight on the water as it ripples fast, then slow
And with the starlight, crickets’ songs and the owl’s song now grow
Songbirds, sun, and rivers, and violet flowers on the hill
Are with us for a moment, but soon all will be still.
They fill our hearts with beauty, but this beauty does not last
And soon the happy hearts they stir will be things of the past. . .
But one day all will live again, and forever will they be
The stone is rolled away
The light is ever here. . .
Forever we will hear sweet songs of singing birds at dawn
Forever we will feel warm beams and watch the rivers run
Everlasting will the purples be that dance upon the hill
A thousand years, a thousand more, the Son is with us still