Wednesday, April 27, 2016

"Reward of Service" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I dedicate this poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning to the memory of my mother Evelyn M. Gilmer (1923-2016). This was one of her favorite poems about love and friendship.


REWARD OF SERVICE
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The sweetest lives are those to duty wed,
Whose deeds both great and small
Are close-knit strands of an unbroken thread,
Where love ennobles all.
The world may sound no trumpets, ring no bells,
The Book of Life the slurring record tells.

Thy love shall chant its own beatitudes,
After its own like working. A child's kiss
Set on thy singing lips shall make thee glad;
A poor man served by thee shall make thee rich;
A sick man helped by thee shall make thee strong;
Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense
Of service which thou renderest.

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