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THE MISER, by                    
First Line: I have wasted nothing. O lord, I have saved
Last Line: Time, and the talent thou gavest me.
Subject(s): Religion; Theology


I have wasted nothing. O Lord, I have saved,
Saved, put by in a goodly hoard.
What of the prodigals? Judge them, Lord—
Their wanton waste of Thy mercies poured
Into the sewers! Profligates!
Judge them, Lord, in Thy righteous wrath.
I have saved, O Lord, I have scraped and saved,
With my eyes downbent to my daily path;
I have counted and carried, checked and stored,
Nothing too worthless, nothing too small,
Never a fragment thrown away—
A gainful use I have found for all.

But what is my store? Do they call this Death,
This poignant insight? At last I see.
I have wasted nothing, O Lord, but life,
Time, and the talent Thou gavest me.





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