CARITAS

    We all depend upon people who care,
    Not only for themselves but for all others,
    With whom they’re generously disposed to share,
    Thinking of them as sisters and as brothers.
    Call this compassion, generosity,
    Or kindliness—all different names for love,
    That bond which binds us each to charity
    Imagined as the Law of Heaven above.
    Though that may be a fable from the past,
    Intended to inculcate and allure,
    Experience alone will prove at last
    That only love can help us to endure
    Those tribulations leading to despair—
    Except for those made comfortable by care.

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