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I’LL DO MY VERY BEST

I may perform no deed of great renown,
No glorious acts to millions manifest;
Yet in my little labors up and down
I’ll do my best.

I may not paint a perfect masterpiece,
Nor carve a statue by the world confessed
A miracle of art; yet will not cease
To do my best.

My name is not upon the rolls of fame,
‘Tis on the page of common life impressed;
But I’ll keep marking, marking just the same,
And do my very best.

And if I see some fellow traveller rise
Far, far above me, still with quiet breast
I keep on climbing, climbing toward the skies,
And do my very best.

Mine may not be the beautiful and grand,
But I must try to be so careful, lest
It fail to be what’s put into my hand—
My very best. —H. Guy Carleton.

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— July 1, 1898 —