ONLY A LITTLE THING

Author: Unknown 

It was only a tiny seed, 

  Carelessly brushed aside;

But it grew in time to be a noxious weed, 

  And spread its poison wide.

It was only a little leak, 

  So small you could hardly see;

But the rising waters found the break, 

  And wrecked the great levee.

It was only a single spark

  Dropped by a passing train;

But the dead leaves caught, and swift and dark

  Was its work on wood and plain.

It was only a thoughtless word, 

  Scarcely meant to be unkind;

But it pierced as a dart to the heart that heard, 

  And left its sting behind.

It may seem a trifle at most, 

  The thing that we do or say, 

And yet it may be at fearful cost

  We may wish it undone some day.