I did not ask of life all that I wished of its rich store, Thinking that asking less, I should deserve the more. Thinking with Emerson to choose the pulse and bread, Thinking that life gave gold when suitors chose the lead. Thinking that life was like a mother wise Who, seeking self restraint, would added gifts devise. Or was it, I scorned the crumb wishing the loaf, And now, faint from my hunger I call myself "Oaf". Life's not a salesman glib, but a keeper at doors Of treasuries bursting with the wealth of rich stores. Ask what you fain would have, your wishes unmasking No boon is worth the name, if not worth the asking. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DEATH AND DOCTOR HORNBOOK; A TRUE STORY by ROBERT BURNS TO SIR GODFREY KNELLER by JOHN DRYDEN THE RHODORA: ON BEING ASKED, WHENCE IS THE FLOWER? by RALPH WALDO EMERSON FLAMMONDE by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON TWO VARIATIONS ON AN OLD NURSEY RHYME: 2 by EDITH SITWELL WHEN I HEARD AT THE CLOSE OF THE DAY by WALT WHITMAN INVITED GUESTS by FRANCES EKIN ALLISON |