A little king­dom I pos­sess,
Where thoughts and feel­ings dwell,
And ve­ry hard I find the task
Of gov­ern­ing it well;
For pas­sion tempts and trou­bles me,
A way­ward will mis­leads,
And self­ish­ness its sha­dow casts,
On all my will and deeds.

How can I learn to rule my­self,
To be the child I should,
Honest and brave, nor ev­er tire
Of try­ing to be good?
How can I keep a sun­ny soul
To shine along life’s way?
How can I tune my lit­tle heart,
To sweet­ly sing all day?

Dear Fa­ther, help me with the love
That cast­est out my fear!
Teach me to lean on Thee and feel
That Thou art ve­ry near.
That no temp­ta­tion is un­seen,
No child­ish grief too small,
Since Thou, with pa­tie­nce in­fi­nite,
Dost soothe and com­fort all.

I do not ask for any crown
But that which all may win;
Nor try to con­quer any world
Except the one with­in.
Be Thou my guide until I find,
Led by a ten­der hand,
Thy hap­py king­dom in my­self
And dare to take com­mand.