Edgar Albert Guest Poems

My religion's lovin' God, who made us, one and all,
Who marks, no matter where it be, the humble sparrow's fall;
An' my religion's servin' Him the very best I can
By not despisin' anything He made, especially man!
...

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.
...

Men talk too much of gold and fame,
And not enough about a name;
And yet a good name's better far
...

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,
...

If this were all of life we'll know,
If this brief space of breath
Were all there is to human toil,
...

'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.
...

I wonder if he'll stop to think,
When the long years have traveled by,
Who heard his plea: 'I want a drink!'
Who was the first to hear him cry?
...

Life is a jest;
Take the delight of it.
Laughter is best;
Sing through the night of it.
...

He came down the stairs on the laughter-filled grill
Where patriots were eating and drinking their fill,
The tap of his crutch on the marble of white
Caught my ear as I sat all alone there that night.
...

Often as we watched her there
From our lips there fell this prayer,
'God, give us the pain to bear!
...