I covet not the warrior's flashing steel
That drives the dreaded foe to headlong flight;
I envy not the czar his ruthless might
That grinds a state beneath an iron heel;
I do not ask that I may ever feel
The thrill that follows fame's uncertain light;
And in the game of life I do not quite
Expect always to hold a winning deal.
Grant me the power to help my fellow man
To bear some ill that he may not deserve;
Give me the heart that I may never swerve,
In scorn of Death, to do what good I can;
But most of all let me but light the fires
Upon the altar of the youth's desires.
OPPORTUNITY
I often met her in the days of youth
Along the highway where the world goes by;
And sometimes when I caught her wistful eye
I wondered that it seemed so filled with ruth.
She was a modest maiden, plain, in truth,
And unattractive, and I thought, "Now why
Should one seek her companionship; not I—
At least, until I've had my fling, forsooth!"
And so I passed her by and had my day,
And met a thousand whom I thought more fair
In tinsel gowns beneath electric glare—
A thousand, but they went their primrose way.
Now she's a queen, and boasts a score of sons—
Her consort he who shunned my charming ones!
HOLIDAY THOUGHTS
The night was like some monster omen ill,
Whose shrieking froze the marrow of my bones;
But day dawned calm, though white as polar zones,
The bluebird shouting "Spring!" from every hill.
The world lay parching in the noonday grill,
And blades of corn were twisting into cones;
But night brought rain, and now, like golden thrones,
The fruited shocks deride October's chill.
Dear Lord, I would that we might live by faith,
However cold and dark the day may seem,
And trust that every cloud is just a wraith,
And every shadow but a fading dream.
Oh, grant our eyes may see the beacon lights
That blaze forever on the peaks and heights!