Classic Poem

Only a smile that was given me
On the crowded street one day,
But pierced the gloom of my saddened heart
Like a sudden sunbeam's ray.
The shadow of doubt hung o'er me,
And the burden of pain I bore,
And the voice of hope I could not hear,
Though I listened o'er and o'er.

But there came a rift in the crowd about
And a face I knew passed by,
And the smile I caught was brighter to me
Than the blue of a summer sky;
For it gave me back the sunshine,
And it scattered each somber thought,
And my heart rejoiced in the kindly warmth
Which that kindly smile had wrought.

Only a smile from a kindly face
On the busy street that day!
Forgotten as soon as given perhaps,
As the donor went her way,
But straight to my heart it went speeding,
To gild the clouds that were there:
And I found that of sunshine and life's blue skies,
I also might take my share.