Edgar Albert Guest

Compensation

I'd like to think when life is done
  That I had filled a needed post,
That here and there I'd paid my fare
  With more than idle talk and boast;
That I had taken gifts divine,
The breath of life and manhood fine,
And tried to use them now and then
In service for my fellow men.

I'd hate to think when life is through
  That I had lived my round of years
A useless kind, that leaves behind
  No record in this vale of tears;
That I had wasted all my days
By treading only selfish ways,
And that this world would be the same
If it had never known my name.

I'd like to think that here and there,
  When I am gone, there shall remain
A happier spot that might have not
  Existed had I toiled for gain;
That some one's cheery voice and smile
Shall prove that I had been worth while;
That I had paid with something fine
My debt to God for life divine.