If I can stop one Heart from breaking

by

If I can stop one Heart from breaking is perhaps Emily Dickinson's most widely quoted poem, a simple and sincere declaration that a life of compassion — however small its acts — is a life not lived in vain. "If I can ease one Life the Aching, / Or cool one Pain —"
Author Emily Dickinson
Credit for portrait of Emily Dickinson: Todd-Bingham picture collection, 1837-1966 (inclusive). Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University.
If I can stop one Heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one Life the Aching,
Or cool one Pain,

Or help one fainting Robin
Unto his Nest again,
I shall not live in vain.