"She Did Her Best"

If I can live
To make some pale face brighter, and to give
A second luster to some tear-dimmed eye,
Or e'en impart
One throb of comfort to an aching heart,
Or cheer some way-worn soul in passing by —

If I can lend
A strong hand to the fallen, or defend
The right against a single envious stain,
My life, though bare,
Perhaps, of much that seemeth dear and fair
To us of earth, will not have been in vain.

The purest joy —
Most near to Heaven — far from earth's alloy,
Is bidding cloud to give way to sun and shine;
And 'twill be well
If on that day of days the angels tell
Of me: "She did her best for one of Thine."

— MILDRED McNEAL.