It is easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows like a song,
But the man worth while is one who will smile,
When everything goes dead wrong.
And the smile that is worth the praises of earth,
Is the smile that shines through tears.
It is easy enough to be prudent,
When nothing temps you to stray
When without or within no voice or sin,
Is luring your soul away;
But it's only a negative virtue
Until it is tried by fire.
And the life that is worth the honor on earth,
Is the one that resists desire.
By the cynic, the sad, the fallen,
Who had no strength for the strife.
The world's highway is cumbered to-day,
They make up the sum of life.
But the virtue that conquers passion,
And the sorrow that hides in a smile.
It is for these that are worth the homage on earth
For we find them but once in a while.