Poems (Hoffman)/Suppose
SUPPOSE
Suppose the sunbeams should say to the roses,
"You are wasting your time, oh, what are you worth?
Each useless rosebud the morn uncloses
Should bloom a sunbeam to light the earth."
"You are wasting your time, oh, what are you worth?
Each useless rosebud the morn uncloses
Should bloom a sunbeam to light the earth."
And the roses, drooping their heads of beauty,
Should wither and die ere the day began,
And say, "Oh, the sunbeams can do their duty,
We have no part in the world's great plan!"
But the roses were never made for shining,
Any more than the sunbeams to breathe perfume;
So each, without murmuring or repining,
Does its part in dispelling earthly gloom.
Should wither and die ere the day began,
And say, "Oh, the sunbeams can do their duty,
We have no part in the world's great plan!"
But the roses were never made for shining,
Any more than the sunbeams to breathe perfume;
So each, without murmuring or repining,
Does its part in dispelling earthly gloom.
O the roses! the roses! they cannot lighten
A hemisphere with a flood of light,
But they do their best in the world to brighten
Gloom that is darker than earthly night.
A hemisphere with a flood of light,
But they do their best in the world to brighten
Gloom that is darker than earthly night.