THESE times strike monied worldlings with dismay: Even rich men, brave by nature, taint the air With words of apprehension and despair: While tens of thousands, thinking on the affray, Men unto whom sufficient for the day And minds not stinted or untilled are given, Sound, healthy, children of the God of heaven, Are cheerful as the rising sun in May. What do we gather hence but firmer faith That every gift of noble origin Is breathed upon by Hope's perpetual breath; That virtue and the faculties within Are vital, -- and that riches are akin To fear, to change, to cowardice, and death? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO DICK, ON HIS SIXTH BIRTHDAY by SARA TEASDALE THE TIGER, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE AURENG-ZEBE, OR THE GREAT MOGUL: PROLOGUE by JOHN DRYDEN THE MARCH INTO VIRGINIA by HERMAN MELVILLE JEWISH HYMN IN BABYLON by HENRY HART MILMAN PARADISE LOST: BOOK 1 by JOHN MILTON FULL OF LIFE NOW by WALT WHITMAN |