Will you always love her so? That is what I want to know. Will you comfort her and stay At her side from day to day? Knowing she must bear your name, Will you shield her from all shame? This the burden on my mind, Will you thoughtful be and kind? All that matters is to know That you'll always love her so. _The Luckless Fisherman_ They laughed when I came home last night And said I didn't get a bite; They snickered an' they joked at me, And all the fellows asked to see The ones I'd caught, "Oho!" said they, "He's been out fishing all this day An' hasn't caught a single thing, He never got a fish to string." They laughed at me, but all their jeers Traveled no further than my ears. 'Twas true I'd fished all day without Snaring a single speckled trout, But what of that? I'd had a day That I could loaf and dream away, I'd chummed with birds and friendly trees And been as care-free as the breeze. I'd rested wheresoe'er I'd willed, To me the hum of trade was stilled, I'd let my thoughts go wandering far To where life's happier glories are; I'd whistled like a boy once more, And even stretched full length on shore To watch the white clouds sail the blue, The very way I used to do. They laughed when I came home at night And said I didn't get a bite. They seemed to think my luck was bad. They couldn't guess the fun I'd had And couldn't know that all that day I'd been a free man, blithe and gay, And though of fish I'd landed none, I'd caught the joys for which I'd gone. _Consolation_ "It is all for the best," so they said As I stood by my dead. But I doubted the word That so often I heard; I could catch but the moan Of the mother, alone, And feel but the blow Which had stricken us so. "Why," I cried, "should it be God must so punish me? Why should my baby die When are hundreds near by, Old and feeble of breath, Waiting only for death?" And they answered me low: "God has ordered it so." But to-day, through the years That have ended our tears, We have memories rare That no others may share; We can look back and see Why the blow had to be-- By that mound and its sod, We are closer to God. _If It's Worth While_ If it's worth while, then it's worth a few blows, Worth a few setbacks and worth a few bruises; If it's worth while--and it is, I suppose-- It's worth keeping on, though the first struggle loses. If it's worth while, then it's worth a good fight, Worth a few bouts with the demon, Disaster, Worth going after with courage and might, Worth keeping on till you've proved you are master. If it's worth while, then it's worth a few pains, Worth a few heartaches and worth a few sorrows, Worth clinging fast to the hope that remains, Worth going on through the doubtful to-morrows.