What man may learn, what man may do, Of right or wrong of false or true, While, skipper-like, his course he steers Through nine and twenty mingled years, Half misconceived and half forgot, So much I know and practise not. Old are the words of wisdom, old The counsels of the wise and bold: To close the ears, to check the tongue, To keep the pining spirit young; To act the right, to say the true, And to be kind whate'er you do. Thus we across the modern stage Follow the wise of every age; And, as oaks grow and rivers run Unchanged in the unchanging sun, So the eternal march of man Goes forth on an eternal plan. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOMEDAY BOOK: JOHN CAMPBELL AND CARL EATON by EDGAR LEE MASTERS REBEL MOTHER'S LULLABY by SHANE LESLIE AN ARAB WELCOME by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH RIDDLE by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD THE TOY BALLOONS by EDNA BECKER THE MISSIONARY by CHARLOTTE BRONTE ASOLANDO: PONT DELL' ANGELO, VENICE by ROBERT BROWNING HOME, SWEET HOME WITH VARIATIONS: 4. AUSTIN DOBSON by HENRY CUYLER BUNNER ON THE MEANING OF ST. PAUL'S EXPRESSION OF SPEAKING WITH TONGUES by JOHN BYROM |