A Contrast
The generous soul dispenses love, and light,
Freely on all, unpressed and unconstrained
Still flowing out, its fount is never drain'd;
Even as the sun, that from its golden height
Warms all beneath its radiance pure and bright,
With beat exhaustless, light that never waned,
Whereby all life and beauty are sustained.
The selfish heart is like the unfeeling flint,
Its fire locked up in chambers of cold stone;
Yielding no goodly spark, but by the dint
And clash, of hard and labored strokes alone;
And what it gives, it gives with niggard stint
Then soon sinks back into its old repose
As if its springs of Love were altogether froze.
- Title
- A Contrast
Part of Contrast, A