O what of our work and our lofty dreams? <br /> Shall they vanish in vapid dust? <br /> Shall influence die like the dried up streams? <br /> Shall all that is gold turn to rust? <br /> <br /> O where are the sunrays of yesteryear? <br /> Have they shed their light all in vain? <br /> They live in the growth of our teeming sphere; <br /> In the fruit and the golden grain. <br /> <br /> O where are the raindrops of days gone by? <br /> Those benign and refreshing showers? <br /> Their rainbows have hung in the murky sky; <br /> They gave life to the fragrant flowers. <br /> <br /> O where are the loves that we sought to show? <br /> And the kindly deeds we have done? <br /> They shine and abide as an afterglow <br /> In the hearts of friends we have won. <br /> <br /> Faint not, weary one, in your purpose true; <br /> In your striving to reach the goal; <br /> No value is lost under Heaven's blue: <br /> In the secret depths of the soul!<br /><br />Cecilia Tyne<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/true-values-abide/
