A builder builded a temple;
He wrought with care and skill.
Pillars and groins and arches
Were fashioned at his will.
Men said, when they saw its beauty;
“It shall never know decay.
Great is thy skill, O builder,
Thy fame shall endure for aye.”

A teacher builded a temple;
She wrought with skill and care,
Forming each pillar with patience,
Laying each stone with prayer.
None saw the constant effort;
None knew the marvelous plan;
For the temple the teacher builded
Was hid from the eyes of man.

Gone is the builder’s temple;
Crumbled into the dust,
Pillars and groins and arches
Food for consuming rust;
But the temple the teacher builded
Shall endure while ages roll;
For that beautiful, unseen temple
Was a child’s immortal soul.

— Author Unknown.