What is Fortune, what is Fame?
Futile gold and phantom name,
Riches buried in a cave,
Glory written on a grave.
What is Friendship? Something deep
That the heart can spend and keep:
Wealth that greatens while we give,
Praise that heartens us to live.
Come, my friend, and let us prove
Life's true talisman is love!
By this charm we shall elude
Poverty and solitude.
The Talisman
written byHenry Van Dyke
© Henry Van Dyke