To The Humble

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If all the flowers were roses,
  If never daisies grew,
If no old-fashioned posies
  Drank in the morning dew,
Then man might have some reason
  To whimper and complain,
And speak these words of treason,
  That all our toil is vain.

If all the stars were Saturns
  That twinkle in the night,
Of equal size and patterns,
  And equally as bright,
Then men in humble places,
  With humble work to do,
With frowns upon their faces
  Might trudge their journey through.

But humble stars and posies
  Still do their best, although
They're planets not, nor roses,
  To cheer the world below.
And those old-fashioned daisies
  Delight the soul of man;
They're here, and this their praise is:
  They work the Master's plan.

Though humble be your labor,
  And modest be your sphere,
Come, envy not your neighbor
  Whose light shines brighter here.
Does God forget the daisies
  Because the roses bloom?
Shall you not win His praises
  By toiling at your loom?

Have you, the toiler humble,
  Just reason to complain,
To shirk your task and grumble
  And think that it is vain
Because you see a brother
  With greater work to do?
No fame of his can smother
  The merit that's in you.

© Edgar Albert Guest