There is a snake in thy smile, my dear,
And bitter poison within thy tear.

There is a snake in thy smile, my dear,
And bitter poison within thy tear.

Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit
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Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit
That could be moved to smile at anything.

From thy own smile I snatched the snake.

From thy own smile I snatched the snake.

Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?
Three angels gave me at once a kiss.

Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?
Three angels gave me at once a kiss.

For smiles from reason flow
To brute deny'd, and are of love the food.

For smiles from reason flow
To brute deny'd, and are of love the food.

'Tis easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows along like a song;
But the man worth read more

'Tis easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows along like a song;
But the man worth while is the one who will smile
When everything does dead wrong;
For the test of the heart is trouble,
And it always comes with the years,
But the smile that is worth the praise of earth
Is the smile that comes through tears.
. . . .
But the virtue that conquers passion,
And the sorrow that hides in a smile--
It is these that are worth the homage of earth,
For we find them but once in a while.

My tables--meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.
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My tables--meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.
At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.

The thing that goest farthest towards making life worth while,
That costs the least, and does the most, is read more

The thing that goest farthest towards making life worth while,
That costs the least, and does the most, is just a pleasant
smile.
. . . .
It's full of worth and goodness too, with manly kindness blent,
It's worth a million dollars and it doesn't cost a cent.

With the smile that was childlike and bland.

With the smile that was childlike and bland.