There Must Be Honesty in Kindness

There must be honesty in kindness,

It must look beyond a bow! of soup, a night of rest,

It must not be a momentary blindness,

An obstinate refusal to see the sunset in the west.

A fortnight in the country is a good thing for a child

But there are more than a score of fortnights in a year,

And some of them come when the winter is wild.

The youngest infant will grow old and full of fear.

We must hold many a hand that is dying,

We must feed many a face many winters through,

And many an angel on white wings flying

Has less to do than we have to do,