Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TREASURE IN HEAVEN, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE Poet's Biography First Line: Every coin of earthly treasure Last Line: What is lent unto the lord! Subject(s): Gifts & Giving | ||||||||
"What I spent, I had; what I left, I lost; what I gave, I have!" OLD EPITAPH. I. EVERY coin of earthly treasure We have lavished, upon earth, For our simple worldly pleasure, May be reckoned something worth; For the spending was not losing, Though the purchase were but small; It has perished with the using: We have had it, -- that is all! II. All the gold we leave behind us, When we turn to dust again (Though our avarice may blind us), We have gathered quite in vain; Since we neither can direct it, By the winds of fortune tossed, Nor in other worlds expect it: What we hoarded, we have lost. III. But each merciful oblation -- (Seed of pity wisely sown), What we gave in self-negation, We may safely call our own; For the treasure freely given Is the treasure that we hoard, Since the angels keep in heaven What is lent unto the Lord! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE GIVEAWAY by PHYLLIS MCGINLEY A VALENTINE FOR ERNEST MANN by NAOMI SHIHAB NYE SO IT'S TODAY by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR EVERYBODY KNOWS by DAVID IGNATOW ON VIOLET'S WAFERS, SENT ME WHEN I WAS ILL by SIDNEY LANIER TO MY CLASS: ON CERTAIN FRUITS AND FLOWERS SENT ... SICKNESS by SIDNEY LANIER THE GIFT; FOR MY DAUGHTER by GREGORY ORR DEATH AND CUPID; AN ALLEGORY by JOHN GODFREY SAXE |
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