REELY'S POETRY BLOG

Um, sorry Glen – but this was written by Edgar A. Guest (1881-1959) and was published around 1909, whereupon it became very popular and was often quoted in magazines and journals and included in devotional calendars. Glen called the song “Less of Me.” Edgar Guest called it:

A Creed

Let me be a little kinder,
Let me be a little blinder
To the faults of those around me,
Let me praise a little more;
Let me be, when I am weary
Just a little bit more cheery,
Let me serve a little better
Those that I am striving for.

Let me be a little braver
When temptation bids me waver,
Let me strive a little harder
To be all that I should be;
Let me be a little meeker
With the brother that is weaker,
Let me think more of my neighbor
And a little less of me.

Let me be a little sweeter,
Make my life a bit completer
By doing what I should do
Every minute of the day;
Let me toil, without complaining,
Not a humble task disdaining,
Let me face the summons calmly
When death beckons me away.

See Breakfast Table Chat (1914) at p. 130, by Edgar Albert Guest. Click on the link to see the poem on google books.

Also, please note that Edgar Guest named several of his poems “A Creed.” There are 3 with that same title in the 1914 edition of Breakfast Table Chat, which is being linked to. The other poems entitled “A Creed” appear on pages 53 and 159.

The one that begins “Let me be a littler kinder …” is on page 130 as referenced above. The poem was often reprinted without a title and without the last stanza.