THE SIN OF OMISSION by Margaret E. Sangster

    Someone I knew very well sent me this poem.

    We sin by actions and sin by our in-actions.
    Wow, sin is so ingrain in our nature. We thank God for sending his Son to save us from our sins.

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    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.


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