Sunday, August 12, 2007

Vote-Worthy

We are in a season of electioneering and campaign rhetoric ad nauseam. I find myself wanting to hear some report, some testimonial of any act of caring, generous, and selfless living, demonstrating a humble involvement by any candidate for public service. There seem to be countless methods of evaluation and analysis for selection of a person deemed to be worthy of a vote … all based on political blarney and self-serving resume building. Here I offer, as a simple and direct method of evaluation, an alternative means of measurement for us all to reflect on … At Set of Sun.

At Set of Sun
If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
That eased the heart of him who heard,
One glance most kind
That fell like sunshine where it went…
Then you may count that day well spent.


But if, through all the livelong day,
You’ve cheered no heart, by yea or nay…
If, through it all
You’ve nothing done that you can trace
That brought the sunshine to one face…
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost…
Then count that day as worse than lost.


GEORGE ELIOT

If, At Set of Sun, you find your day accordingly “well spent”… you get my vote! Serve happily.



IMAGES through the gracious courtesy of Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think this poem is similar to one by Helen Steiner Rice. It is beautiful and gets my vote!

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