The Lord God planted a garden
In the first white days of the world;
And placed there an angel warden,
In a garment of light unfurled.
So near to the peace of heaven,
The hawk might nest with the wren;
For there, in the cool of the even,
God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden closes,
With their shade and their sun-flecked sod,
And their lilies and bowers of roses
Were laid by the hand of God.
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's Heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.