Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul Part 10

However the battle is ended, Though proudly the victor comes, With fluttering flags and prancing nags And echoing roll of drums, Still truth proclaims this motto, In letters of living light: No question is ever settled Until it is settled right.

Though the heel of the strong oppressor May grind the weak in the dust, And the voices of fame with one acclaim May call him great and just, Let those who applaud take warning, And keep this motto in sight: No question is ever settled Until it is settled right.

Let those who have failed take courage; Though the enemy seemed to have won, Though his ranks are strong, if in the wrong The battle is not yet done.

For, sure as the morning follows The darkest hour of the night, No question is ever settled Until it is settled right.

FORt.i.tUDE AMID TRIALS

O, never from thy tempted heart Let thine integrity depart!

When Disappointment fills thy cup, Undaunted, n.o.bly drink it up; Truth will prevail and Justice show Her tardy honors, sure, though slow.

Bear on--bear bravely on!

Bear on! Our life is not a dream, Though often such its mazes seem; We were not born for lives of ease, Ourselves alone to aid and please.

To each a daily task is given, A labor which shall fit for Heaven; When Duty calls, let Love grow warm; Amid the suns.h.i.+ne and the storm, With Faith life's trials boldly breast, And come a conqueror to thy rest.

Bear on--bear bravely on!

He that feeds men serveth few; He serves all who dares be true.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

PLUCK

Be firm. One constant element in luck Is genuine, solid, old Teutonic pluck.

See yon tall shaft? It felt the earthquake's thrill, Clung to its base, and greets the sunlight still.

Stick to your aim; the mongrel's hold will slip, But only crow-bars loose the bulldog's grip; Small as he looks, the jaw that never yields Drags down the bellowing monarch of the fields.

Yet, in opinions look not always back; Your wake is nothing,--mind the coming track; Leave what you've done for what you have to do, Don't be "consistent," but be simply true.

--Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Do thy little; do it well; Do what right and reason tell; Do what wrong and sorrow claim: Conquer sin and cover shame.

Do thy little, though it be Dreariness and drudgery; They whom Christ apostles made Gathered fragments when he bade.

Is the work difficult?

Jesus directs thee.

Is the path dangerous?

Jesus protects thee.

Fear not and falter not; Let the word cheer thee: All through the coming year He will be near thee.

Well to suffer is divine.

Pa.s.s the watchword down the line Pa.s.s the countersign, Endure!

Not to him who rashly dares, But to him who n.o.bly bears, Is the victor's garland sure.

--John Greenleaf Whittier.

If thou canst plan a n.o.ble deed And never flag till thou succeed, Though in the strife thy heart shall bleed, Whatever obstacles control, Thine hour will come; go on, true soul!

Thou'lt win the prize; thou'lt reach the goal.

I honor the man who is willing to sink Half his present repute for freedom to think; And when he has that, be his cause strong or weak, Will risk t'other half for freedom to speak.

--James Russell Lowell.

The word is great, and no deed is greater When both are of G.o.d, to follow or lead; But alas! for the truth when the word comes later, With questioned steps, to sustain the deed.

--John Boyle O'Reilly.

Stand upright, speak thy thought, declare The truth thou hast that all may share; Be bold, proclaim it everywhere; They only live who dare.

--Lewis Morris.

There is no duty patent in the world Like daring try be good and true myself, Leaving the shows of things to the Lord of show And Prince o' the power of the air.

--Robert Browning.

Tender-handed stroke a nettle, And it stings you for your pains; Grasp it like a man of mettle, And it soft as silk remains.

--Aaron Hill (1685-1750).

On the red rampart's slippery swell, With heart that beat a charge, he fell Foeward, as fits a man; But the high soul burns on to light men's feet Where death for n.o.ble ends makes dying sweet.

--James Russell Lowell.

I do not ask that Thou shalt front the fray.

And drive the warring foeman from my sight: I only ask, O Lord, by night, by day, Strength for the fight!

No coward soul is mine, No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere; I see Heaven's glories s.h.i.+ne, And faith s.h.i.+nes equal, arming me from fear.

--Emily Bronte.

You will find that luck Is only pluck To try things over and over; Patience and skill, Courage and will, Are the four leaves of luck's clover.