"all things affirm thee in living"

We praise thee, O God, for thy glory

displayed in all the creatures of the earth,

In the snow, in the rain, in the wind, in the storm;

in all of thy creatures, both the hunters and the hunted…

They affirm thee in living;

all things affirm thee in living;

the bird in the air, both the hawk and the finch;

the beast on the earth, both the wolf and the lamb;…

Therefore man, whom thou hast made

to be conscious of thee,

must consciously praise thee,

in thought and in word and in deed.

Even with the hand to the broom,

the back bent in laying the fire,

the knee bent in cleaning the hearth…

The back bent under toil,

the knee bent under sin,

the hands to the face under fear,

the head bent under grief,

Even in us the voices of the seasons,

the snuffle of winter, the song of spring,

the drone of summer,

the voices of beasts and of birds,

praise thee.

-from Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot