When power was at its flood and hope was high, And far bright places shimmered in his gaze He left the heights and chose the lowly ways. Perhaps a backward glance, a close-clipped sigh... He stooped to us and laid his own work by. No honest striving lacked his ardent praise; No groping blunderer too low to raise. An eagle, teaching tamer birds to fly! "For I have labored somewhat in my time, He might have said, "nor been profusely paid." Urging the weak, the small toward the sublime, Richly content to fan a kindling spark. Who shall compute the sacrifice he made? Signing away his fame -- A Man: His Mark. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOMESDAY BOOK: THE CORONER by EDGAR LEE MASTERS CAVALIER TUNES: GIVE A ROUSE THEN FOR THE CLINIC by ROBERT BROWNING THE DARK HILLS by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE, SEPTEMBER 3, 1802 by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH THE MOUNTAIN TOMB: 1. TO A CHILD DANCING IN THE WIND by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS TO SAN FRANCISCO by S. J. ALEXANDER |