One foot in Heaven, the other in Hell,
Beneath golden sunshine, beneath stormy swell
I tread, one step with a thousand rejoicings,
Another, and sorrow beclouds my eyes.

I ponder this myst'ry, the life that I live,
so fragrant with blessings, so blackened with death.
With one step I breathe, another, and breath
is futile, a struggle.
And some days I hop, one foot on one side,
the other pulled up.

But born with two feet, as we all are, am I,
and destined to live, to breathe, and to die.
I walk on this pathway, this road split in twain.
At times I will tread one, but come back again
to the blessings and cursings, one step, then the next,
With each day, nay, each hour, each minute a test
of my strength, a walk with my God.

The road is not mine, nor, even, the walk,
For God stands the master and planner of Time.
But I, the apprentice and heir of my soul,
Have been given the task, and, as well, the control
to take each step, first one, then the next,
with faith in my father, and Him in my heart,
that where'er I finish, where'er I may start,
One foot in Heaven, the other in Hell,
Beneath Golden Gateways, I'll finish it well.