CONTENTMENT
A touch of rose and a glint of gold;
A crystal star in the sea of pearl;
What matters it if the world grows cold
When the folds of night unfurl?
A friend or two for the living day;
And love for the worldly things worth while;
What matters it if the skies grow gray?
There is no chill in a soul-born smile!
An hour for joy; a moment for tears;
And golden beams to breast the gloom;
What matters it if the surging years
Are beating against an eternal tomb?
For life is real, and so much joy
Pervades each hour of the living day,
That sorrow is only the mild alloy
Which strengthens the fabric of mortal clay!
LET ME LIVE A WHILE
Oh, let me live a little while;
A fleeting, changeful day;
And teach me how to laugh and smile
When skies grow cold and gray!
Oh, let me learn the lessons hard,
The tasks of life's long school,
And let me soothe the hands deep scarr'd
Of those who broke some rule!
Oh, let me say a word of cheer
To those who struggle by,
And let me dry another's tear
When sorrow's train is nigh!
Oh, let me ease some troubled heart
With a kind word or two,
And let me cool the ache and smart
Of wrongs some others do!
Oh, let me bear the heavy cross
Borne by some falt'ring man,
And let his gain become my loss
In life's fine sifting pan!
Oh, let me live a little while;
A fleeting, changeful day;
And may the heavens glow and smile
When I am laid away!
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