Poem by Henry Van Dyke

Work

Let me but do my work from day to day,
    In field or forest, at the desk or loom,
    In roaring market-place or tranquil room;
Let me but find it in my heart to say,
When vagrant wishes beckon me astray,
  "This is my work; my blessing, not my doom;
  "Of all who live, I am the one by whom
"This work can best be done in the right way."

Then shall I see it not too great, nor small,
  To suit my spirit and to prove my powers;
  Then shall I cheerful greet the labouring hours,
And cheerful turn, when the long shadows fall
At eventide, to play and love and rest,
Because I know for me my work is best.

1. The Gentle Traveller
2. Hesper
3. Flood-Tide of Flowers
4. Patria
5. Sicily, December 1908

Elizabeth Barrett-Browning Work ("WHAT are we set on earth for? Say, to toil")

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