Success

There's more to life than

Sitting tight in smug serenity,

Upholding every private right

Of all that's mine . . . and me.

My eager crowding for a place

Exclusive in the sun

May cast a shadow on the face

Of some more worthy one.

*My frantic reaching out for fame

That mortals will applaud

May rob me of the fine acclaim

That cometh down from God.

My feverish toil, on wealth intent,

To reach an earthly goal

May lead to stark impoverishment,

A beggar of the soul.

My will to make of passing days

A tinkling pleasure chain

May bind me, as the vision grays,

To mockery of pain.

*What, then, is worth my toiling for?

What gain is worth the strife?

What goals beckon from afar?

Which way the blessed life?

The building of success, I'd say,

Will come just down to this:

To have my striving go the way

Of others' happiness!

(First published in Along the Lane: Dedicated to the memory of Thomas William Larsen, who lost his life in World War II)

*The paragraphs in italics are those that appeared in the original writing of the poem, but were omitted in the published version.