I know it is early morning,
     And hope is calling aloud,
And your heart is afire with Youth's desire
     To hurry along with the crowd.
But linger a bit by the roadside,
     And lend a hand by the way,
'Tis a curious fact that a generous act
     Brings leisure and luck to a day.

I know it is only the noontime --
     There is chance enough to be kind;
But the hours run fast when noon has passed,
     And the shadows are close behind.
So think while the light is shining,
     And act ere the set of the sun,
For the sorriest woe that a soul can know
     Is to think what it might have done.

I know it is almost evening,
     But the twilight hour is long.
If you listen and heed each cry of need
     You can right full many a wrong.
For when we have finished the journey
     We will all look back and say:
'On life's long mile there was nothing worth while
     But the good we did by the way.'


This poem is in the public domain.