If with pleasure you are viewing
Any work a man is doing,
If you like him or you love him tell him now.

Don't withhold your approbation
Till the parson makes oration
And he lies with snowy lilies on his brow,

For no matter how you shout it
He won't really care about it
He won't know how many teardrops you have shed

So if some praise is due him
Now's the time to slip it to him
For he cannot read his tombstone when he's dead.

More than fame and more than money
Is the comment kind and sunny
And the hearty warm approval of a friend,

For it gives to life a savor
And it makes you stronger, braver,
And it gives you heart and courage to the end.

If he earns your praise, bestow it
If you like him, let him know it
Let the words of true encouragement be said.

Do not wait till life is over
And he's underneath the clover,
For he cannot read his tombstone when he's dead.

~ Berton Braley (1882-1966)