Great events, we often find,
On little things depend,
And very small beginnings
Have oft a mighty end.
Letters joined make words,
And words to books may grow,
As flake on flake descending
Form an avalanche of snow.
A single utterance may good
Or evil thought, inspire;
One little spark enkindled
May set a town on fire.
What volumes may be written
With little drops of ink!
How small a leak, unnoticed,
A mighty ship will sink!
A tiny insect’s labor
Makes the coral strand,
And mighty seas are girdled
With grains of golden sand.
A daily penny, saved,
A fortune may begin;
A daily penny, squandered,
May lead to vice and sin.
Our life is made entirely
Of moments multiplied,
As little streamlets, joining,
Form the ocean’s tide.
Our hours and days, our months and years,
Are in small moments given:
They constitute our time below-
Eternity in heaven.
