Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TREASURE IN HEAVEN, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TREASURE IN HEAVEN, by                     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...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net