If with pleasure you are
viewing any work a man is doing,
If you like him or you love
him, tell him now;
Don't withhold your approbation
till the parson makes oration
And he lies with snowy lilies
on his brow;
No matter how you shout
it he won't really care about it;
He won't know how many teardrops
you have shed;
If you think some praise
is due him
now's the time to slip it
to him,
For he cannot read his tombstone
when he's dead.
More than fame and more than
money
is the comment kind and
sunny
And the hearty, warm approval
of a friend.
For it gives to life a savor,
and it makes you stronger,
braver,
And it gives you heart and
spirit to the end;
If he earns your praise-bestow
it;
if you like him let him
know it;
Let the words of true encouragement
be said;
Do not wait till life is
over and he's underneath the clover;
For he cannot read his tombstone
when he's dead.
Berton Braley