| Walter Murdoch (1874–1970). The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse. 1918. |
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| 105. The Sum of Things |
| | | By Arthur W. Jose |
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| THIS is the sum of things…that we | |
| A moment live, a little see, | |
| Do somewhat, and are gone; for so | |
| The eternal currents ebb and flow. | |
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| This is the sum of work—that man | 5 |
| Does, while he may, the best he can, | |
| Nor greatly cares, when all is done, | |
| What praise or blame his toils have won. | |
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| This is the sum of fight—to find | |
| The links of kin with all our kind, | 10 |
| And know the beauty Nature folds | |
| Even in the simplest form she moulds. | |
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| This is the sum of life—to feel | |
| Our handgrip on the hilted steel, | |
| To fight beside our mates, and prove | 15 |
| The best of comradeship and love. | |
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| This is the sum of things—that we | |
| A lifetime live greatheartedly, | |
| See the whole best that life has meant, | |
| Do out our work, and go content. | 20 |
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