A New Leaf

He came to my desk with a quivering lip,
The lesson was done.
"Have you a new sheet for me, dear teacher?
I've spoiled this one."
I took his sheet, all soiled and blotted
And gave him a new one all unspotted.
And into his tired heart I cried,
"Do better now, my child."

I went to the throne with a trembling heart;
The day was done.
"Have you a new day for me, dear Master?
I've spoiled this one."He took my day, all soiled and blotted
And gave me a new one all unspotted.
And into my tired heart he cried,
"Do better now, my child."

(Anonymous, “A New Leaf,” James G. Lawson, compiler, The Best Loved Religious Poems (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1961).)