Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul Part 12

And, if I pray, the only prayer That moves my lips for me Is, "Leave the heart that now I bear, And give me liberty!"

Yes, as my swift days near their goal, 'Tis all that I implore, In life and death a chainless soul And courage to endure.

--Emily Bronte.

Keep to the right, within and without, With stranger and pilgrim and friend; Keep to the right and you need have no doubt That all will be well in the end.

Keep to the right in whatever you do, Nor claim but your own on the way; Keep to the right, and hold on to the true, From the morn to the close of life's day!

FOR A' THAT

Is there for honest poverty That hangs his head, and a' that?

The coward slave, we pa.s.s him by, We dare be poor for a' that; For a' that and a' that; Our toils obscure and a' that; The rank is but the guinea-stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine, Wear hodden gray, and a' that: Gie fools their silks and knaves their wine, A man's a man for a' that; For a' that and a' that, Their tinsel show, and a' that, The honest man, though e'er sae poor, Is king o' men, for a' that.

You see yon birkie ca'd a lord, Wha struts and stares, and a' that: Though hundreds wors.h.i.+p at his word He's but a coof for a' that.

For a' that and a' that, His riband, star, and a' that, The man of independent mind, He looks and laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight, A marquis, duke, and a' that; But an honest man's aboon his might, Guid faith, he mauna fa' that, For a' that and a' that, Their dignities, and a' that, The pith of sense and pride o' worth, Are higher ranks than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may, As come it will, for a' that, That sense and worth o'er a' the earth, May bear the gree and a' that; For a' that and a' that, It's comin' yet for a' that, That man to man, the warld o'er, Shall brothers be, for a' that.

--Robert Burns.

Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage; Minds innocent and quiet take That for a hermitage; If I have freedom in my love, And in my soul am free, Angels alone, that soar above, Enjoy such liberty.

--Richard Lovelace.

"A MAN'S A MAN FOR A' THAT"

(A new song to an old tune.)

"A man's a man," says Robert Burns, "For a' that and a' that"; But though the song be clear and strong It lacks a note for a' that.

The lout who'd s.h.i.+rk his daily work, Yet claim his wage and a' that, Or beg when he might earn his bread, Is _not_ a man for a' that.

If all who "dine on homely fare"

Were true and brave and a' that, And none whose garb is "hodden gray"

Was fool or knave and a' that, The vice and crime that shame our time Would disappear and a' that, And plowmen be as great as kings, And churls as earls for a' that.

But 'tis not so; yon brawny fool, Who swaggers, swears, and a' that, And thinks because his strong right arm Might fell an ox, and a' that, That he's as n.o.ble, man for man, As duke or lord, and a' that, Is but an animal at best But _not_ a man for a' that.

A man may own a large estate, Have palace, park, and a' that, And not for birth, but honest worth, Be thrice a man for a' that.

And Sawnie, herding on the moor, Who beats his wife and a' that, Is nothing but a brutal boor, Nor half a man for a' that.

It comes to this, dear Robert Burns, The truth is old, and a' that, The rank _is_ but the guinea's stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that.

And though you'd put the self-same mark On copper, bra.s.s, and a' that, The lie is gross, the cheat is plain, And will not pa.s.s for a' that.

"For a' that and a' that"

'Tis soul and heart and a' that That makes a king a gentleman, And not his crown for a' that.

And whether he be rich or poor The best is he, for a' that, Who stands erect in self-respect, And acts the man for a' that.

--Charles Mackay.

ESSE QUAM VIDERI

The knightly legend on thy s.h.i.+eld betrays The moral of thy life; a forecast wise, And that large honor that deceit defies, Inspired thy fathers in the elder days, Who decked thy scutcheon with that st.u.r.dy phrase, _To be, rather than seem._ As eve's red skies Surpa.s.s the morning's rosy prophecies, Thy life to that proud boast its answer pays, Scorning thy faith and purpose to defend.

The ever-mutable mult.i.tude at last Will hail the power they did not comprehend-- Thy fame will broaden through the centuries; As, storm and billowy tumult overpast, The moon rules calmly o'er the conquered seas.

--John Hay.

THE HIGHER LAW

Man was not made for forms, but forms for man, And there are times when law itself must bend To that clear spirit always in the van, Outspeeding human justice. In the end Potentates, not humanity, must fall.

Water will find its level, fire will burn, The winds must blow around the earthly ball, The earthly ball by day and night must turn; Freedom is typed in every element, Man must be free, if not through law, why then Above the law, until its force be spent And justice brings a better. But, O, when, Father of Light, when shall the reckoning come To lift the weak, and strike the oppressor dumb.

--Christopher Pea.r.s.e Cranch.

What I am, what I am not, in the eye Of the world, is what I never cared for much.

--Robert Browning.

I RESOLVE

To keep my health; To do my work; To live; To see to it that I grow and gain and give; Never to look behind me for an hour; To wait in meekness, and to walk in power; But always fronting onward, to the light, Always and always facing toward the right.

Robbed, starved, defeated, fallen, wide-astray-- On, with what strength I have-- Back to the way.

--Charlotte Perkins Stetson.

IN MYSELF

I do not ask for any crown But that which all may win; Nor try to conquer any world Except the one within.

Be thou my guide until I find Led by a tender hand, The happy kingdom in myself And dare to take command.

--Louisa May Alcott.

HIDE NOT THY HEART

This is my creed, This is my deed: "Hide not thy heart!"