WHAT are we set on earth for ? Say, to toil; <br />Nor seek to leave thy tending of the vines <br />For all the heat o' the day, till it declines, <br />And Death's mild curfew shall from work assoil. <br />God did anoint thee with his odorous oil, <br />To wrestle, not to reign; and He assigns <br />All thy tears over, like pure crystallines, <br />For younger fellow-workers of the soil <br />To wear for amulets. So others shall <br />Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand <br />From thy hand and thy heart and thy brave cheer, <br />And God's grace fructify through thee to <br />The least flower with a brimming cup may stand, <br />And share its dew-drop with another near.<br /><br />Elizabeth Barrett Browning<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/work-7/
