The Three Best Things by Henry van Dyke

Read "The Three Best Things" by Henry van Dyke online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.

Work / Let me but do my work from day to day, / In field or forest, at the desk or loom, / In roaring market-place or tranquil room; / Let me but find it in my heart to say, / When vagrant wishes beckon me astray, / "This is my work; my blessing, not my doom; / Of all who live, I am the one by whom / This work can best be done in the right way."

Then shall I see it not too great, nor small, / To suit my spirit and to prove my powers; / Then shall I cheerful greet the labouring hours, / And cheerful turn, when the long shadows fall / At eventide, to play and love and rest, / Because I know for me my work is best.

Reading navigation