I'd like to think when life is done <br /> That I had filled a needed post. <br />That here and there I'd paid my fare <br /> With more than idle talk and boast; <br />That I had taken gifts divine. <br />The breath of life and manhood fine, <br /> And tried to use them now and then <br /> In service for my fellow men. <br /> <br />I'd hate to think when life is through <br /> That I had lived my round of years <br />A useless kind, that leaves behind <br /> No record in this vale of tears; <br />That I had wasted all my days <br />By treading only selfish ways, <br /> And that this world would be the same <br /> If it had never known my name. <br /> <br />I'd like to think that here and there, <br /> When I am gone, there shall remain <br />A happier spot that might have not <br /> Existed had I toiled for gain; <br />That someone's cheery voice and smile <br />Shall prove that I had been worth while; <br /> That I had paid with something fine <br /> My debt to God for life divine.<br /><br />Edgar Albert Guest<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/compensation-28/
