NEVER to want what one may not have— Always to want what one may. Never to long for the love that is lost, Nor by night to remember the day. To be fonder of winter than summer or spring, To be fonder of leaves than of flowers. To be fonder of toil than of riches and rest, And of pain than of pleasureful hours. To demand nothing more of the heart one loves best, Than the least one would grant to one's foe. To ask no return for the gift of one's all, Save the loan of a heartache or so. To believe there are purpose and beauty in woe. To believe that to fail is to win. To stand in Hope's graveyard alone, and prefer The Now to the What-might-have-been. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CONTRA MORTEM: THE WHEEL OF BEING I by HAYDEN CARRUTH SONGS FOR TWO SEASONS: 1. AFTER GRAVE ILLNESS by CAROL FROST SPRINGTIME by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: ADAM WEIRAUCH by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: ALFRED MOIR by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |