Poems (Bass)/Do Not Say That the World is Cold

by Cora C. Bass

DO NOT SAY THAT THE WORLD IS COLD.

Do not say that the world is cold,
 The world is a glorious place,
And friends are the same as of old
 For each has a generous face.
It is only ourselves that have changed,
 The present eclipses the past,
And we are too early estranged
 From the love which endures to the last.

This pride. is it never to blame?
 Is the word so easy to speak
Withheld, while we barter for fame
 The life we are yearning to seek?
'Mid the desolate tracks of the soul,
 Full oft an oasis is hid
By turning aside from the goal,
 Or the too sudden droop of a lid.

Alas! as we go on alone,
 How little we value the cost
Of sacrifice, save for our own,
 In the joy another has lost.
Should we pause to consider the heart.
 And fathom the depth of its grief,
No power could keep us apart.
 Though the parting were never so brief.

It is ours to bask if we will
 Within the bright sunlight of truth;
To sip of the cup which we fill
 In the fair, sweet morning of youth.
And our friends, they are ever our own
 To comfort, to cherish, sustain;
Though often the care is unknown,
 'Tis enough if we banish the pain.

Enough, when we give of our best,
 A brother is cheered on his way;
Enough, if the weary may rest
 'Mid the fervid heat of the day.
'T is enough if the burden we bear
 But eases the load of a friend:
Enough, if the burden we share,
 We are worthy to share to the end.