Yes, I too could face death and never shrink: But it is harder to bear hated life; To stive with hands and knees weary of strife; To drag the heavy chain whose every link Galls to the bone; to stand upon the brink Of the deep grave, nor drowse, though it be rife With sleep; to hold with steady hand the knife Nor strike home: this is courage as I think. Surely to suffer is more than to do: To do is quickly done; to suffer is Longer and fuller of heart-sicknesses: Each day's experience testifies of this: Good deeds are many, but good lives are few; Thousands taste the full cup; who drains the lees? -- | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE WILD FLOWER'S SONG by WILLIAM BLAKE MARY AND GABRIEL by RUPERT BROOKE UPON THE IMAGE OF DEATH by ROBERT SOUTHWELL BETH GELERT; OR, THE GRAVE OF THE GREYHOUND by WILLIAM ROBERT SPENCER THE PRINCESS; A MEDLEY by ALFRED TENNYSON |