There isn't any danger in the kindly things you say, <br />There isn't any sorrow in the fine and manly deed, <br />No deep regret awaits you at the ending of the day, <br />There's always joy in knowing that you've played the friend in need. <br /> <br />There isn't any anguish in the cheerful words you speak, <br />The happy salutation never leaves a bitter sting, <br />No man has met dishonor being gentle with the weak <br />And unselfishness has never caused an hour of sorrowing. <br /> <br />It's the petty little failures which disturb us most at night, <br />The little acts of meanness and the trivial things we do; <br />The conscience never troubles us when we have done what's right, <br />It's when we've failed to be our best that shame begins to brew. <br /> <br />Oh, most of us are honest in the larger fields of life <br />And most of us are brave enough in times of stress and woe. <br />And most of us are fine enough in days of cruel strife. <br />But it is in the little things the worst begins to show. <br /> <br />The danger of our peace of mind lies in our selfishness, <br />In cruel little bits of speech which thoughtlessly we say, <br />In pressing on so eager to achieve our own success. <br />That we neglect the kindly folks we pass along the way.<br /><br />Edgar Albert Guest<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/safe-conduct/
