Ascend

Can we rise above mere subsistence?
What’s it all for if not for love?
But that’s too far in the distance
With just food some say it’s enough.

What would you, with eternal vigor?
Make your barns; bigger, bigger?
Living is for the learning
Friend, that’s true earning

The acquisition of my knowledge
“Who are you?” A first lady asked me
And for a while I paid them homage

Self-discovery is the great summary
My love, service, faith, and patience
All poured in through this surveillance
All nations now know their own fragrance

If that newborn star is my inheritance
Through him I hope for innocence

Yes, self-knowledge is a great achievement
Mind not the reflection’s inconvenience
Pass that along to the rising star child
Let him store up, write, and compile

Will his legacy be greater than thee?
I hope to God Almighty that he will be
Even as a key to set men free

If I should live not one more hour
I am glad to give thee my life’s power
Take more and more of me dear friend
Though with many evils we contend
I pray and trust that in the end,
We shall to our Father ascend.