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Poetry · Chapter
Thy Heart explained
A brief poem urging the reader to keep an open and generous heart, comparing it to a wide basket or overflowing cup rather than a closed casket.
What happens
A brief poem urging the reader to keep an open and generous heart, comparing it to a wide basket or overflowing cup rather than a closed casket.
Themes in this chapter
Love as Ultimate Strength
The poem encourages an open, generous heart that overflows with love and kindness.
Key passages
“Make not of thy heart a casket, Opening seldom, quick to close; But of bread a wide-mouthed basket, Or a cup that overflows.”
Do not make your heart like a small, locked box that rarely opens and quickly shuts; instead, let it be like a large basket for bread or a cup that spills over with abundance.
The poem contrasts a closed, guarded heart with an open, generous one.