Lord, Keep me busy, keep me fit-
At my window I don't want to sit
To see my neighbors hurrying on by,
Let me be useful till I die.
Let me rise knowing, each morning new
That some niche in life is mine to do.
A garden fold, the soil to till-
Some phlox and crocus to round me fill.
The years are moving though my age has told-
The wish to keep working when I am old.
I want a part, if but slower paced
Of the learned skills I once embraced.
A little job, though small it be,
A venial task with need of me-
To keep me free from idle waste
Till with my Maker I meet face to face.
If this be so Willed not to deny-
Lord, keep me busy till I die.
Richard Williams
Marianapolis Preparatory School
Thompson, Connecticut
September, 1964
