Life’s Harmony Is Sacrifice
The keynote of life's harmony is sacrifice.
Not twice, or thrice,
Beneath each sun will souls bow down
To lay the crown
Of will or time beneath strange feet,
But many times, that life's chords may be sweet. Who sacrifices most
Drinks deepest life's rich strain, counting no cost,
But giving self on every side
Daily and hourly, sanctified
But in the giving. Living
Is but the bearing, the enduring,
The clashing of hammer, the cutting,
The straining of the strings,
The growth of harmony's pure wings. Life is the tuning time, complete
Alone when every chord is sweet
Through sacrifice. No untuned string
Can music bring;
No untried life
Has triumphed, having passed the strife. True living
Is learning all about the giving.