Time’s finger on the dial of my lifePoints to high noon! and yet the half-spent dayLeaves less than half remaining, for the dark,Bleak shadows of the grave engulf the end.To those who burn the candle to the stick,The sputtering socket yields but little light.Long life is sadder than an early death.We cannot count on ravelled […]

When mighty issues loom before us, allThe petty great men of the day seem small,Like pigmies standing in a blaze of lightBefore some grim majestic mountain-height.War, with its bloody and impartial hand,Reveals the hidden weakness of a land,Uncrowns the heroes trusting Peace has madeOf men whose honour is a thing of trade,And turns the searchlight […]

Whenever I am prone to doubt or wonder –I check myself, and say, “That mighty OneWho made the solar system cannot blunder –And for the best all things are being done.”Who set the stars on their eternal coursesHas fashioned this strange earth by some sure plan.Bow low, bow low to those majestic forces,Nor dare to […]

Wise men tell me thou, O Fate,Art invincible and great. Well, I own thy prowess; stillDare I flout thee with my will Thou canst shatter in a spanAll the earthly pride of man. Outward things thou canst control;But stand back–I rule my soul! Death? ‘Tis such a little thing –Scarcely worth the mentioning. What has […]

Use all your hidden forces. Do not missThe purpose of this life, and do not waitFor circumstance to mould or change your fate;In your own self lies Destiny. Let thisVast truth cast out all fear, all prejudice,All hesitation. Know that you are great,Great with divinity. So dominateEnvironment, and enter into bliss.Love largely and hate nothing. […]

Hadst thou a ship, in whose vast hold lay storedThe priceless riches of all climes and lands,Say, wouldst thou let it float upon the seasUnpiloted, of fickle winds the sport,And of wild waves and hidden rocks the prey? Thine is that ship; and in its depths concealedLies all the wealth of this vast universe –Yea, […]

We walk on starry fields of whiteAnd do not see the daisies,For blessings common in our sightWe rarely offer praises.We sigh for some supreme delightTo crown our lives with splendour,And quite ignore our daily storeOf pleasures sweet and tender. Our cares are bold and push their wayUpon our thought and feeling;They hang about us all […]

I see the tall church steeples –They reach so far, so far;But the eyes of my heart see the world’s great martWhere the starving people are. I hear the church bells ringingTheir chimes on the morning air;But my soul’s sad ear is hurt to hearThe poor man’s cry of despair. Thicker and thicker the churches,Nearer […]

As we journey along, with a laugh and a song,We see, on youth’s flower-decked slope,Like a beacon of light, shining fair on the sight,The beautiful Station of Hope. But the wheels of old Time roll along as we climb,And our youth speeds away on the years;And with hearts that are numb with life’s sorrows we […]

Like some schoolmaster, kind in being stern,Who hears the children crying o’er their slatesAnd calling, “Help me, master!” yet helps not,Since in his silence and refusal liesTheir self-development, so God abidesUnheeding many prayers. He is not deafTo any cry sent up from earnest hearts;He hears and strengthens when He must deny.He sees us weeping over […]

If all the end of this continuous strivingWere simply TO ATTAIN,How poor would seem the planning and contriving,The endless urging and the hurried driving,Of body, heart, and brain! But ever in the wake of true achievingThere shines this glowing trail –Some other soul will be spurred on, conceivingNew strength and hope, in its own power […]

Man has explored all countries and all lands,And made his own the secrets of each clime.Now, ere the world has fully reached its prime,The oval earth lies compassed with steel bands,The seas are slaves to ships that touch all strands,And even the haughty elements, sublimeAnd bold, yield him their secrets for all time,And speed like […]

When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago,And etched on vacant placesAre half-forgotten facesOf friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know –When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow. Uprising from the ocean of the present surging near,We […]

There is much that makes me sorry as I journey down life’s way,And I seem to see more pathos in poor human lives each day.I’m sorry for the strong, brave men who shield the weak from harm,But who, in their own troubled hours, find no protecting arm. I’m sorry for the victors who have reached […]

Love thyself last. Look near, behold thy dutyTo those who walk beside thee down life’s road.Make glad their days by little acts of beautyAnd help them bear the burden of earth’s load. Love thyself last. Look far and find the strangerWho staggers ‘neath his sin and his despair;Go, lend a hand, and lead him out […]

All in the dark we grope along,And if we go amissWe learn at least which path is wrong,And there is gain in this. We do not always win the raceBy only running right;We have to tread the mountain’s baseBefore we reach its height. The Christs alone no errors made;So often had they trodThe paths that […]

A yacht from its harbour ropes pulled free,And leaped like a steed o’er the race-track blue,Then up behind her the dust of the sea,A gray fog, drifted, and hid her from view.

The uses of sorrow I comprehendBetter and better at each year’s end. Deeper and deeper I seem to seeWhy and wherefore it has to be. Only after the dark, wet daysDo we fully rejoice in the sun’s bright rays. Sweeter the crust tastes after the fastThan the sated gourmand’s finest repast. The faintest cheer sounds […]

The times are not degenerate. Man’s faithMounts higher than of old. No crumbling creedCan take from the immortal soul the needOf that supreme Creator, God. The wraithOf dead beliefs we cherished in our youthFades but to let us welcome new-born Truth. Man may not worship at the ancient shrineProne on his face, in self-accusing scorn.That […]

Under the snow, in the dark and the cold,A pale little sprout was humming;Sweetly it sang, ‘neath the frozen mould,Of the beautiful days that were coming. “How foolish your songs!” said a lump of clay;“What is there, I ask, to prove them?Just look at the walls between you and the day,Now, have you the strength […]