Weak and puny, small and frail, Helpless he with tooth or nail, In a world of fang and claw Where sheer power makes the law. Into battle he has gone With the shaggy mastodon, With the cruel beasts of prey Snarling in their lust to slay, Thirsting for the taste of blood; He has fought with fire and flood, With a heart and soul elate Warred with nature—and with fate, Dauntless, fearless, bold of eye, Unafraid to fall and die, Man has battled countless odds Which would fright the very gods, But by virtue of his will Which no chill defeat could kill, And by strength of heart and soul He has striven to his goal; By sheer vigor of attack Beaten brute creation back And through countless conflicts hurled Made him Master of the World! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE DORCHESTER GIANT by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES A SHROPSHIRE LAD: 1. 1887 by ALFRED EDWARD HOUSMAN ANNABEL LEE by EDGAR ALLAN POE LETTY'S GLOBE by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER MY PRAYER FOR TODAY by MAUD AKERS ON AN INTAGLIO HEAD OF MINERVA (2) by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE CUCKOO by ALEXANDER ANDERSON POLYHYMNIA: THE YOUTH IN THE BOAT (FRAGMENT) by WILLIAM BASSE |