Poems (Ryan)/Oh! Tell Me Not

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4511557Poems — Oh! Tell Me NotMary C. Ryan

OH! TELL ME NOT.
Oh! tell me not of love grown cold,
Nor of departed hopes;
These tales are sad and often told
By every heart that weeps.

But tell to me what good you'll seek
From this great world to gain;
Though fortune frowns and earth looks bleak,
You'll cherish no dull pain.

The future stands before us now
A mass of unhewn stone,
Which will into an image grow
Beneath time's hand alone.

And we to carve its features fair
Must use our time aright,
We have no days nor hours to spare,
But work we must with might.

All man can do. The greatest fame
Is e'er by trifles won,
Success's the meed of well spent time,
And peace, of tasks well done.