AS leaves are to the tree whereon they grow And wither, every human generation Is, to the Being of a mighty nation, Locked in our world's embrace through weal and woe; Thought that should teach the zealot to forego Rash schemes, to abjure all selfish agitation, And seek through noiseless pains and moderation The unblemished good they only can bestow. Alas! with most, who weigh futurity Against time present, passion holds the scales: Hence equal ignorance of both prevails, And nations sink; or, struggling to be free, Are doomed to flounder on, like wounded whales Tossed on the bosom of a stormy sea. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...YOUTH'S PROGENY by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: A DREAM OF PONCE DE LEON by HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH THE HUMBLE-BEE by RALPH WALDO EMERSON THE HAYSTACK IN THE FLOODS by WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) MAIDEN MELANCHOLY by RAINER MARIA RILKE A MIDNIGHT MEDITATION by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN THE TRUANTS by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM ADDRESS TO SUBSCRIBERS .. FUND FOR CLOTHING CHILDREN CHARITY SCHOOL by BERNARD BARTON |