By ERNEST C. AMBALI
1. The world has nothing for nothing
The dollar on the road you picked
Is something for something.
Had you not to the road walked
You would have had nothing for nothing.
2. The world has nothing for nothing.
Even charity given to the needy
Is not something for nothing.
Had the giver not seen them untidy
They would have had nothing for nothing
3. The world has nothing for nothing.
Even what you get from God,
Is something for something.
Had you not sought indeed,
You would have had nothing for nothing.
4. The world has nothing for nothing
Even the love you ardently enjoy
Is something for something
Had you not given yours with joy,
You would have had nothing for nothing
5. The world has nothing for nothing ,
The praises on you showered,
Are not something for something.
Had you not first sowed
You would have had nothing for nothing
6. The world has nothing for nothing.
The wealth you abundantly get,
Is something for something.
Had you not planted to reap it,
You would have had nothing for nothing.
7. The world has nothing for nothing.
The insults people throw at you,
Are something for something
Had you not insulted a few
You would have had nothing for nothing
8. The world has nothing for nothing
Even the one who calls you friend
Is something for something
Had you not pleased his mind,
You would have had nothing for nothing.
9. The world has nothing for nothing
And what you call an accident,
Is something for something
Because you had been negligent
You had something for something.
10. The world has nothing for nothing
What you call a fortune
Is something for something
Because you had given a good turn
You therefore had something for something.
11. The world has nothing for nothing
Even the illness you get
Is something for something.
Had you not thought of it,
You would have had nothing for nothing.
12. The world has nothing for nothing
Even the kind of death befalling you,
Is something for something.
Had you not feared it true,
You would have had nothing for nothing.
13. The world has nothing for nothing
Even the failure befalling you
Is something for something.
Had you not thought of it true,
You would have had nothing for nothing
14. The world has nothing for nothing
And the success you attain,
Does not result from magic.
Because you had read and known,
You had something for something.
15. The world has nothing for nothing.
The poverty that pins you down
Is something for something.
Had you in it not grown,
You would have had nothing for nothing.
16. The world has nothing for nothing.
The so-called wealthy are so
Because they grew believing
Had they no belief to sow
They would have had nothing for nothing
ENDS