(If this is your first time on this site, I recommend that you begin with "Are You Prepared For Success?" [Introduction])
If you are a female reader please go to #27f
The Touch of the Master's Hand
"Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar," then, two! Only two?
"Two dollars, and who'll make it three?
"Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three. . ." But no,
From the room, far back, a gray haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;
And going and gone," said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scared with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage," a flask of wine;
A game -- and he travels on.
He's "going" once, and "going" twice,
He's "going" and almost "gone."
But the master comes and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the changes that's wrought
By the touch of the master's hand.
I strongly suggest that you write down your immediate reaction, after passionately reading this poem.
- Who do you know that could greatly benefit from the "the touch of a master's hand," and why? (Could it be you, or could you be the master?)
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touch of the master's hand master auctioneer violin Myra B. Welch
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