The Better Part

“Mary, the only glory sweet
To any Christian heart is thine —
Hidden beside the Master’s feet,
Lost in that clearer light to shine.

Whilst evermore the heart obeys
The sermon of thy listening looks,
Learning religion from thy gaze,
Better than from a thousand books.

Thy silence is his sweetest psalm,
While from his lips thy name distils,
And, dropping like thy precious balm,
Ever his home with fragrance fills.”