Life's course in safety would'st thou steer, Licinius, shun the open deep; Nor to the treacherous shore in fear Of storms too closely keep. The giant pine by tempest oft Is rent: towers fall with heavy crash And mountain peaks that soar aloft Attract the lightning's flash. He who selects the golden mean Finds in no garret foul his home, Nor covets, sober and serene, The envy-stirring dome. A mind well trained both hopes in woe, And fears in weal a change of fate, For Jove who sends the cheerless snow Withdraws it soon or late. Tears will be followed by a smile— Apollo, with his lyre, the muse Oft wakens, ceasing for a while His deadly bow to use. When nearly wrecked in times of ill Prove the brave mettle of thy mind, And wisely reef thy sails that fill With too propitious wind. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PRAIRIES by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE PLOUGHER [OR PLOWER] by PADRAIC COLUM THE SABBATH MORNING by JOHN LEYDEN MOTHER TO SON by IRENE RUTHERFORD MCLEOD OF AN ORCHARD by KATHARINE TYNAN THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL by OSCAR WILDE |