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I DID NOT ASK OF LIFE, by                    
First Line: I did not ask of life all that I wished of its rich store
Last Line: No boon is worth the name, if not worth the asking.
Subject(s): Food & Eating; Hunger; Life


I did not ask of life all that I wished of its rich store,
Thinking that asking less, I should deserve the more.

Thinking with Emerson to choose the pulse and bread,
Thinking that life gave gold when suitors chose the lead.

Thinking that life was like a mother wise
Who, seeking self restraint, would added gifts devise.

Or was it, I scorned the crumb wishing the loaf,
And now, faint from my hunger I call myself "Oaf".

Life's not a salesman glib, but a keeper at doors
Of treasuries bursting with the wealth of rich stores.

Ask what you fain would have, your wishes unmasking
No boon is worth the name, if not worth the asking.





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