If we but knew what forces helped to mold The lives of others from their earliest years -- Knew something of their background, joys and tears, And whether or not their youth was drear and cold, Or if some dark belief had taken hold And kept them shackled, torn with doubts and fears So long it crushed the force that perseveres And made their hearts grow prematurely old, -- Then we might judge with wiser, kindlier sight, And learn to put aside our pride and scorn. . . Perhaps no one can ever quite undo His faults or wholly banish some past blight -- The tolerant mind is purified, reborn, And lifted upward to a saner view. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: JACOB GODBEY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS GOD'S WAY by HORATIO (HORATIUS) BONAR CONCORD HYMN; SUNG AT COMPLETION OF CONCORD MONUMENT, 1836 by RALPH WALDO EMERSON RIDDLE ON THE LETTER H (2) by CATHERINE MARIA FANSHAWE VERSES FOR A GUEST ROOM by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS |