There is one thing nobly worth while,
Though the parrots chatter and scream,
Though the critics howl and the cynics smile,
And life seems a mocking dream.

There is one thing that grandly counts,
In the face of the tempting glare,
In the tempests of doubt on the lonely mounts,
In the thickets of thorny care.

And that's to hold the truth!
To abide with justice and right,
To be a man in genuine sooth,
With heaven's invincible might.

There are bowers of beauty and love,
There are trumpets of lordly fame,
There are pleasures below and blessings above
That flash with a lifting flame.

Let them flaunt their allurements high,
Let them beckon and call and cajole;
There is only one worth in the earth and the sky,
And that is an honest soul.


This poem is in the public domain.