Edgar Albert Guest Poems

You shall have satin and silk to wear,
When my ship comes in;
And jewels to shine in your raven hair,
When my ship comes in.
...

You ought to be fine for the sake of the folks
Who think you are fine.
If others have faith in you doubly you're bound
To stick to the line.
...

I am selfish in my wishin' every sort o' joy for you;
I am selfish when I tell you that I'm wishin' skies o' blue
Bending o'er you every minute, and a pocketful of gold,
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IF no one ever went ahead,
If we had seen no friend depart
And mourned him for a while as dead,
How great would be our fear to start.
...

'Twas not so many years ago,
Say, twenty-two or three,
When zero weather or below
Held many a thrill for me.
...

SINCE I have done my best, I do
Not fear the outcome; here I stand
Prepared for judgment when men view
The labor of my heart and hand.
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Men talk too much of gold and fame,
And not enough about a name;
And yet a good name's better far
...

'Oh, if only I had known!'
Said the keeper of the inn.
'But no hint to me was shown,
And I didn't let them in.
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If this were all of life we'll know,
If this brief space of breath
Were all there is to human toil,
...

The miser thinks he's living when he's hoarding up his gold;
The soldier calls it living when he's doing something bold;
The sailor thinks it living to be tossed upon the sea,
...