Give, give! cried Love. Seek not for self to gain,
But, with both hands o'erflowing, of thy best
Give unto those that ask thee, nor refrain
From those who. heedless still, yet long for rest;
For to give rightly is Love's first behest.
Give as the sun gives day in place of night,
As the glad lark its song of pure delight;
Give as the landscape all its beauty shows,.
As yields its tender scent the generous rose.
Give as the rain floods all the thirsting earth,
As flings the breeze its ripple of soft mirth;
As the wide tree spreads shade in noontide glare,
The best thou knowest give, that all may share.
And as these lack not, neither shalt thou lack;
For all thy giving shall increase thy store.
Because unsought, thy sowing shall give back
An hundredfold of good—till more and more
Thy garners of true joy are brimming o'er.
