One hundred sheep, but one has gone astray,
The shepherd has just counted, and now is in dismay.
He still has ninety-nine, so why is he distraught?
It’s because his heart is breaking, for the one he hasn’t got.
So he leaves the ninety-nine, and sets out on a search,
He looks in all the bushes, and walks down to the brook.
And then he finds the sheep, almost dead upon the ground,
He puts it on his shoulder, and then he’s homeward bound.
He nurtures it so loving, until it’s doing fine,
And then he lets it go, back with the ninety-nine.
Oh Lord! Make me a shepherd, this loving and this kind,
And lead me to the sheep, you want for me to find.
Clete Wiley
