Two Poems Today….

I have been cleaning out a cabinet under my bookcase and I found these two poems that I especially liked and I thought I would share them with you.

The first on is from “The Three Best Things, “ by Henry Van Dyke.

Let me do my work from day to day
In field or forest, at the desk or loom,
In roaring market place or tranquil room,
Let me but find it in my heart to say,
When vagrant wishes beckon me astray,
“This is my work; my blessing, not my doom;
Of all who live I am the one by whom
This work can best be done in the right way.”

Then shall I see it not too great, nor small,
To suit my spirit and to prove my power;
Then shall I cheerful greet the labouring hours,
And cheerful turn, when the long shadows fall
At eventide, to play and love and rest,
Because I know for me my work is best.

This next one didn’t have a title but it is by Blaine Yorgason

God,
Before he sent His children to earth
Gave each of them
A very
Carefully selected package
Of Problems.

These,
He promised, smiling,
Are yours alone. No one
Else may have the blessings
These problems will bring you.

And only you
Have the special talents and abilities
That will be needed
To make these problems
Your servents.

Now go down to your birth
And to your forgetfulness. Know that
I love you beyond measure.
These problems that I give you
Are a symbol of that love.

The monument you make of your life
With the help of your problems
Will be a symbol of your
Love for me.
Your Father.

I have now tucked these poems away again to read when I need to.