THE SPARROW
by
William H. Dawes and Nosmo King (1948)

A stealthy step, an opening door, a pencil beam of light;
A grasping hand-and Jim the Rat was gone into the night
The Rat! All London knew that name, though none had seen his face;
Grim stories of his evil deeds were told from place to place,
And ev'ry lawful citizen had but one thought in mind...
"The Rat must come to justice... he's a menace to mankind!"
0, passing strange, though mercy's cup is ours with God to share,
Pardon and pity for a fellow creature is so rare!
Love shall grow where love is sown-but Jim the Rat knew none,
And just as he was hated so he hated everyone.
And yet the basest of us has some hidden spark within,
Some secret touch of the Divine, tho' blackened o'er with sin;
And, as through alley ways and dark back streets his way he'd wend,
His lone, embittered spirit sought... and sought in vain, a friend.
A little bird fell from its nest one windy day in Spring,
And lay upon the carriage, way with tiny broken wing;
The passing crowd, they saw it there, helpless and frightened eyed.
They saw it there... and yet pass'd by upon the other side.
Yet one there was who noticed it, a lonely, outcast man;
He picks it up... the bird has found its Good Samaritan.
They, who ignored the sparrow, had ignored the outcast too.
The common bond between them gave him grace, Christ's work to do.
Skillfully, yet tenderly the broken wing was set,
And 'neath his ragged coat he gently placed his new-found pet.
He took it home with him; he calmed its fears and eased its pain,
And nursed his little feathered pal to health and strength again.
At length, one Sunday eve, it ventured on a trial flight,
With Jimmy following close behind and keeping it in sight.
It flew a little way, then fell-beside an open door
Of a little church that Jim the Rat had never seen before.
He peered within. With throbbing heart, he listened to the sound
Of music and of words that held him rooted to the ground.
They echoed in the arches and through the rafters rang
A choir of children's voices-and this is what they sang:
"He sees the little sparrow fall, it meets His tender view,
If He so loves the little birds, I know He loves me too."
Then could it be (it seem'd so from the message of those words)
That there was One who cared, like Jim, for little broken birds?
And could such love and tenderness be for the likes of him?
With wistful hope he shyly crept within the precincts dim,
Just as he was, a man unclean in body and in soul,
Seeking that unkown Friend whose pitying love might make him whole.
And ere the Evensong was ended, Jimmy knew in part
That here was found a salve divine to heal his sinful heart.
God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to proclaim
He is His own interpreter, and He makes all things plain.
And in that church unto this day the oft-told tale is heard,
How Jim the Rat was brought to God... by a little broken bird.