LIFE'S POSSIBILITIES.
O could I have the choosing
Of what my life should be,
I would make it all so lovely,
So grand, and broad, and free,
So strong in its high endeavor,
So sweet in its harmony.
Over and over and over
Will the useless wish repeat,
I have hushed it, bravely crushed it
Like a flower beneath my feet,
But only to make its fragrance
Grow stronger and more sweet.
What would my life be think you
Could I sit me down and plan
For myself each year and moment
That maketh the earthly span?
O, the perfect joy of living
With never a pain or care,
With never a blighted prospect,
And never a chill despair,
With never a weary burden,
Of thankless toil to bear!
I would make it a path of beauty,
Where loveliest flowers would grow;
I would make it a path of duty
Where an angel would gladly go,
I would cast all the sin and sorrow,
All the dread of my heart aside,
No evil to bear or borrow,
No triumph to be denied;
I would spend all the days in winning
Life's noblest and grandest good,
I would miss all the clouds that darken
Of what my life should be,
I would make it all so lovely,
So grand, and broad, and free,
So strong in its high endeavor,
So sweet in its harmony.
Over and over and over
Will the useless wish repeat,
I have hushed it, bravely crushed it
Like a flower beneath my feet,
But only to make its fragrance
Grow stronger and more sweet.
What would my life be think you
Could I sit me down and plan
For myself each year and moment
That maketh the earthly span?
O, the perfect joy of living
With never a pain or care,
With never a blighted prospect,
And never a chill despair,
With never a weary burden,
Of thankless toil to bear!
I would make it a path of beauty,
Where loveliest flowers would grow;
I would make it a path of duty
Where an angel would gladly go,
I would cast all the sin and sorrow,
All the dread of my heart aside,
No evil to bear or borrow,
No triumph to be denied;
I would spend all the days in winning
Life's noblest and grandest good,
I would miss all the clouds that darken
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