Barter

Image by Gerhard Bögner from Pixabay

In the midst of the stressors, responsibilities, daily news, and deadlines of contemporary life, it’s all too easy to forget that the world offers us—each and every moment—endless opportunities to experience beauty, wonder, and joy. In this poem, Sara Teasdale urges us to find those opportunities, seize them, and treasure them.

Barter

by Sara Teasdale (1884 –1933)

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.