Tolerance Poem by Samuel Ellsworth Kiser

IF you can go to heaven your way,
I know of no good reason why
I ought to curse you, or display
Contempt when you are passing by ;

I have no wish to see you barred
From future everlasting joy,
Although you seem to find it hard
To use the faith that I employ.

As long as you are not inclined
To have me damned and scourged and burned,
I'll try to have an open mind
Where our two creeds may be concerned ;

No pious hate nor holy wrath
Shall make me wish to bruise your soul
Or put obstructions in the path
By which you hope to reach your goal.

If, kneeling at your mother's knee,
You learned a faith that keeps you strong,
No effort shall be made by me
To prove that your belief is wrong ;

I shall not question nor deny
The saving grace that fills your thought,
Though you may hold beliefs that I
Have never had, and never sought.

Hold fast the faith that you possess,
If you can find sweet hope therein,
And freedom from the bitterness
That plunges bigots into sin ;

If your way leads to heaven, proceed,
Nor any of your hopes resign ;
I have no doubt that there, indeed,
Are many other ways than mine.