O, pause and think for a moment
What a desolate land it would be,
If, east or west, the eye should rest
On not a single tree!
—Gray
It was only a sunny smile,
And little it cost in the giving,
But it scattered the night,
Like the morning light,
And made the day worth living.
Keep pushing—'tis wiser
Than sitting aside,
And dreaming and sighing,
And waiting the tide.
In life's earnest battle,
They only prevail
Who daily march onward,
And never say "fail".
One step and then another,
And the longest walk is ended.
One stitch and then another,
And the largest rent is mended.
One brick and then another,
And the highest wall is made.
One flake and then another,
And the deepest snow is laid.
Speak the truth and speak it ever,
Cost it what it will.
He who hides the wrong he did,
Does the wrong thing still.
Whichever way the wind doth blow,
Some heart is glad to have it so;
Then blow it east or blow it west,
The wind that blows, that wind is best.
We should make the same use of books that the bee does of a flower: he gathers sweets from it, but does not injure it.
I smile, and then the Sun comes out;
He hides away whene'er I pout;
He seems a very funny sun,
To do whatever he sees done.
And when it rains he disappears;
Like me, he can't see through the tears.
Now isn't that the reason why
I ought to smile and never cry?