Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE MISER by LAURA BELL EVERETT

First Line: I HAVE WASTED NOTHING. O LORD, I HAVE SAVED
Last Line: TIME, AND THE TALENT THOU GAVEST ME.
Subject(s): RELIGION; THEOLOGY;

I have wasted nothing. O Lord, I have saved,
Saved, put by in a goodly hoard.
What of the prodigals? Judge them, Lord—
Their wanton waste of Thy mercies poured
Into the sewers! Profligates!
Judge them, Lord, in Thy righteous wrath.
I have saved, O Lord, I have scraped and saved,
With my eyes downbent to my daily path;
I have counted and carried, checked and stored,
Nothing too worthless, nothing too small,
Never a fragment thrown away—
A gainful use I have found for all.

But what is my store? Do they call this Death,
This poignant insight? At last I see.
I have wasted nothing, O Lord, but life,
Time, and the talent Thou gavest me.



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