Music, and Other Poems

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.

     April, 1902.