"Too young" do they call him? Who say it? Not they Who have felt his hard stroke in the civic affray, When elders, whom veteran fighters had taught Till they knew all the rules by which battles are fought, Fumbled weakly with weapons his foresight had sought. Who thinks of his youthfulness? Surely not they Who stood at his side through the wavering day, And knew the quick vision, the planning exact Of parry and thrust, till the stout helmet cracked 'Neath the bold and true blow that is better than tact. Yea, the strength of the arm is the strength of its use, Not its years; and when fighting is on, better choose Not the rust-eaten sword from the library wall, But the new blade that leaps in its sheath at the call. Ask the foe by which weapon he fears most to fall! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AT CANDLE-LIGHTIN' TIME by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR THE MORAL FABLES: THE FOX, THE WOLF, AND THE HUSBANDMAN by AESOP COUNTRY DOCTOR by DANA KNEELAND AKERS THE LOVE SONNETS OF PROTEUS: 36. FEAR HAS CAST OUT LOVE by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT UNBELIEF by ELIZABETH YORK CASE SONGS IN ABSENCE: 9. OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND by ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH |