 | The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe |  |
TREASURE IN HEAVEN.
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO GEORGE PEABODY, ESQ.
“What I spent, I had; what I left,
I lost; what I gave, I have!”
Old Epitaph.
I lost; what I gave, I have!”
Old Epitaph.
I.
Every coin of earthly treasureWe 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!
| The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe | |