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Do Something

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

If the world's "a vale of tears,"
Smile till rainbows span it;
Breathe the love that life endears--
Clear from 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.

(From The Humbler Poets, 1888)