The peasant whose lot was to sow and to reap, The saint who enjoyed the communion of heaven, So the multitude goes, like the flower and the weed, So the multitude comes, like those we behold, For we are the things our fathers have been; The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think; They loved, but their story we cannot unfold; They died,-ay, they died; and we things that are now, Yea, hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, Are mingled together in sunshine and rain; And the smile and the tear, and the song and the dirge, Still follow each other like surge upon surge. 'Tis the wink of an eye, 'tis the draught of a breath, From the blossom of health to the paleness of death, From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud,Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud? 5. Opportunity TODAY THOMAS CARLYLE So here hath been dawning Out of Eternity This new day is born; At night will return. Behold it afore time, No eye ever did: So soon it forever From all eyes is hid. Here hath been dawning Another blue day: THE WATER MILL SARA DOUDNEY Listen to the water mill, Through the live-long day, Languidly the autumn wind Stirs the greenwood leaves; "The mill will never grind With the water that has passed." Take the lesson to thyself, Loving heart and true; Golden years are fleeting by, Youth is passing, too; Learn to make the most of life, Lose no happy day; Time will never bring thee back Chances swept away. Work while the daylight shines, Man of strength and will, Never does the streamlet glide Useless by the mill. Wait not till tomorrow's sun Beams upon the way; May not, cannot last; "The mill will never grind With the water that has passed." Oh, the wasted hours of life That have drifted by, Oh, the good we might have done, Lost without a sigh; Love that we might once have saved By a single word, Thoughts conceived but never penned, Take the proverb to thine heart, Take! oh, hold it fast! "The mill will never grind With the water that has passed." IRREVOCABLE MARY WRIGHT PLUMMER What thou hast done thou hast done; for the heavenly horses are swift. Think not their flight to o'ertake,—they stand at the throne even now. Ere thou canst compass the thought, the immortals in just hands shall lift, Poise, and weigh surely thy deed, and its weight shall be laid on thy brow; For what thou hast done thou hast done. What thou hast not done remains; and the heavenly horses are kind. Till thou hast pondered thy choice, they will patiently wait at thy door. Do a brave deed, and behold! they are farther away than the wind. Returning, they bring thee a crown, to shine on thy brow ever more; For what thou hast done thou hast done. OPPORTUNITY EDWARD ROWLAND SILL This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:- A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's banner And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel- Then came the king's son, wounded, sore bestead, And ran and snatched it, and with battle shout 6. Loyalty to Your Best Self HARPS HUNG UP IN BABYLON ARTHUR COLTON The harps hung up in Babylon, "Forget me, Lord, if I forget Two rivers to each other run |