1 Prayer is the key
For the bending knee
To open the morn’s first hours;
See the incense rise,
To the starry skies,
Like perfume from the flow’rs.

2 Not a soul so sad,
Nor a heart so glad,
When cometh the shades of night,
But the daybreak song
Will the joy prolong,
And some darkness turn to light.

3 Take the golden key
In your hand and see,
As the night tide drifts away,
How its blessed hold
Is a crown of gold,
Thro' the weary hours of day.

4 When the shadows fall,
And the vesper call
Is sobbing its low refrain,
’Tis a garland sweet
To the toil worn feet,
And an antidote for pain.

5 Soon the year’s dark door
Shall be shut no more:
Life’s tears shall be wiped away,
As the pearl gates swing,
And the gold harps ring,
And the sun unsheathe for aye.