THE UNAFRAID
Only the lion kings the land
Who is whelped in the desert’s fire;
Only the stallion lords the band
With the hoof unsmirched with mire.
The peak for the eagle to preen and to dream—
Only the game fish swims up stream.
Only the ocean carries a sail
That foams to the blizzard’s breath;
The silent seas that sleep and quail
Are a-creep with the curse of death.
The sky for the rocket to glow and to gleam—
Only the game fish swims up stream.
Only the stars are suns which burn
By the heat of their own heart’s light;
The million worlds which round them turn
Float dead in a nebulous night.
The meteor’s burst is its funeral beam—
Only the game fish swims up stream.
Only the man is made for fame—
Ocean and eagle and sun—
Whose soul, by Fate, is dipt in flame
And winged with the winners who run.
Fame for the Faithful—death for the dead—
The peak and the star for the Unafraid!
John Trotwood Moore.