the sin of omission

THE SIN OF OMISSION

Margaret E. Sangster

It isn't the thing you do dear,
It's the thing you leave undone
That gives you a bit of a heartache
At setting of the sun.

The tender word forgotten,
The letter you did not write,
The flowers you did not send, dear,
Are your haunting ghosts at night.

The stone you might have lifted
Out of a brother's way;
The bit of heartsome counsel
You were hurried too much to say;

The loving touch of the hand, dear,
The gentle, winning tone
Which you had no time nor thought for
With troubles of your own.

Those little acts of kindness
So easily out of mind,
Those chances to be angels
Which we poor mortals find-

They come in night and silence,
Each sad, reproachful wraith,
When hope is faint and flagging,
And a chill has fallen on faith.

For life is all to short, dear,
And sorrow is all too great,
To suffer our slow compassion
That tarries until too late;

And it isn't the thing you do, dear,
It's the thing you leave undone
Which gives you heartache
At the setting of the sun.

quoted by Willie Buyson Villarama in his email to Nedy Bart, April 8, 2009