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1850–1919

“DOES IT PAY?”

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

If one poor burdened toiler o'er life's road, Who meets us by the way, Goes on less conscious of his galling load, Then life, indeed, does pay.

If we can show one troubled heart the gain That lies alway in loss, Why, then, we too are paid for all the pain Of bearing life's hard cross.

If some despondent soul to hope is stirred, Some sad lip made to smile, By any act of ours, or any word, Then, life has been worth while.

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“DOES IT PAY?” · Ella Wheeler Wilcox · Poetry Cove