The Seeker Poem by Lucy Larcom

'IF selfishly Thy heaven I seek,
I seek Thy heaven in vain,' —
I heard my heart within me speak:
I hear it yet again.

For heaven is all unselfishness:
The souls whose home is there
Have never dreamed of happiness
They do not long to share.

If selfishly Thy love I seek,
I seek Thy love in vain.
Place at Thy side need none bespeak
Who shrink back from Thy pain.

For love — Thy love — is sacrifice:
Who seeketh still his own,
Nor for his brethren lives and dies,
Thyself hath never known.

Dear Lord, each selfish thought we think
Puts us afar from Thee:
Into our own dark depths we sink,
Where heaven can never be.

Teach us to know Thee as Thou art; —
To give. as Thou hast given!
Oh, show us how the loving heart
May make this world a heaven!