Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IF WE BUT ONLY KNEW, by OLIVER MURRAY EDWARDS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IF WE BUT ONLY KNEW, by                    
First Line: I wrote a verse and sent it forth
Last Line: Through all eternity.
Subject(s): Future Life; Knowledge; Poetry & Poets; Retribution; Eternity; After Life


I wrote a verse and sent it forth
And never can recall
Its influence for good or bad,
However great or small;
I wrote a song and it is sung,
I do not know how much,
Unknown to me the ears that hear,
The hearts that it may touch.

I cast a stone in waters still
And ripples more and more
Departed from the spot it struck
And reached to every shore;
And so with every act we do,
Or word that we may say,
The ripples start to circle 'round
From near to far away.

If we but knew the harm that comes
From what we do or say,
If we could know the good that comes
From little acts today,
Tomorrow would be brighter far
For there is much we'd do,
And much we'd leave undone, unsaid,
If we but only knew.

And oft I think the future life—
Our Heaven or our Hell—
Will be in part that we shall watch
The ripples grow and swell
From acts which we have done on earth,
That we shall clearly see,
Circles that give us joy or pain
Through all Eternity.





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