Poems (Hoffman)/Mistaken Values
MISTAKEN VALUES
I read a life in a face, and guessedThat there's little reward when we give our best;I saw a soul that had counted small,Life's duty and love, and its glory—all;
And I said to myself, 'tis a strange disguise,When the faithful are foolish, the selfish wise:I looked to my soul, from values of earth,To learn what was truly of supreme worth.
And I saw there cometh, not gratitude,Nor gold, nor fame, but a higher good,To unselfish lives; that unselfishnessBy its very blessing, itself shall bless.
The soul that would on itself existWill wake to know it has something missed—Something without which it starves and shrinks,And feels its loss while of gain it thinks.
Wait'st for heaven to reward thy worth?Soul, thou art richer to-day, on earth;For selfish glory and gain are small,And duty and love and truth are all.