O SHAM, who sittest boldly on the throne, There's someone passing at the palace gate, Who smiles, and whispers his dread word of fate,— The real king to thee and thine unknown. And he is passing through the world of men, Pays tribute to the Cæsar bearing rule, Walks in the market place, sees many a fool, "Not yet" keeps saying, and is strong again; Distinguishes what seems so from what is, My manly man with that clear soul of his; And through them all, illumined from afar He starlike moves, himself led by a star Which no earthborn ambition can unsphere; Believes what should be will be; never dreams The end is failure; knows—whatever seems— He knows what light shines yonder; can endure All else should perish—his ideal is sure. And that means triumph; shows that he can hear, And see, and feel, with finer sense than most,— Hear music from the far-off crystal coast As of some victory—faint, but never lost; And so by right, which none may steal or borrow, Sustain to-day with strength drawn from tomorrow. And shall we know him as we see him pass? Some may; the multitude will not, alas! Such gentleness and such simplicity; No fuss, no noise, no label; but 't is he. I think there may be thorn wounds on his brow; Perhaps there will be nail prints in his hands; The world bestows these things, nor understands; Some hold them signs of failure even now. And yet 't is he; his triumph most assured Who stands for truth and right and has endured; Been tempted and endured; made sacrifice For noble ends, nor stooped to compromise, Nor turned, but gone straightforward as did seem The living creatures in the prophet's dream, Straightforward always, and endured; I say The way thus walked in is life's Sacred Way, And it is he; for, when the light shall grow, And all the bugles of the morning blow, Oh, then the disillusioned world will bring Its tardy homage and all cry, "The King!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: ADAM WEIRAUCH by EDGAR LEE MASTERS LINES ON LEAVING THE BEDFORD STR. SCHOOL HOUSE by GEORGE SANTAYANA THEOLOGY by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR LOVE SONGS TO JOANNES by MINA LOY WINTER WATER by KENNETH SLADE ALLING SAW YE JOHNNIE COMIN'? by JOANNA BAILLIE THE SCEPTIC by LOUISA SARAH BEVINGTON TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 3. ELDER SOLDIER IN BROTHERHOOD TO THE YOUNGER by EDWARD CARPENTER |