Poems (Larcom)/Three Old Saws

by Lucy Larcom

THREE OLD SAWS.

IF the world seems cold to you,
 Kindle fires to warm it!
Let their comfort hide from view
 Winters that deform it.
Hearts as frozen as your own
 To that radiance gather.
You will soon forget to moan
 "Ah I the cheerless weather!"

If the world 's a wilderness,
 Go, build houses in it!
Will it help your loneliness
 On the winds to din it?
Raise a hut, however slight;
 Weeds and brambles smother;
And to roof and meal invite
 Some forlorner brother.

If the world 's a vale of tears,
 Smile, till rainbows span it!
Breathe the love that life endears,
 Clear of clouds to fan it.
Of your gladness lend a gleam
 Unto souls that shiver;
Show them how dark Sorrow's stream
 Blends with Hope's bright river.