Foresight: To Bow and to Bend

Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom (about 1833), oil on canvas

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'Simple Gifts' by Joseph Brackett Jr

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
’tis the gift to come down where you ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
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When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed
To turn, turn will be our delight
‘Till by turning, turning we come round right.

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Edward Hicks (1780–1849) was a Quaker preacher and an American painter. The Peaceable Kingdom depicts a vision of paradise from the book of Isaiah, chapter 11.

Joseph Brackett Jr (1797–1882) was a Shaker elder and an American songwriter.