Treasures

How many rich men count themselves happy? It is not money, but people, that we ought to consider wealth. When every last penny has been spent, the worth of those who love us will not have been depleted by one whit.


Treasures

I am not rich, but neither am I poor;
my coffers ebb and flow abreast the tide,
to satisfy me from an ample store.
It is a simple duty to provide

for everyday demands. A modest heart,
obliging both in appetite and mode,
impels a similarly modest art
to satisfy its unabating load,

and gladly, for a dollar never bought
a single speck of happiness. I must
rely upon another, as I ought,
and rest my merriment upon the trust

that you will love me even when my stock
of worldly relief has run its clock.