Serve God -- by the eternal heaven's chart Steer thine observant course: Watch nature's workings, and with willing heart Obey the mighty force. Insult not faith -- if thou dost not believe Scorn not the saints and sages. A people knows its god: do thou receive The gifts of all the ages. Obey the church -- for men have need to pray And much the prophets saw. If thou hast visions, break thou not away, But add them to the law. Honour thy fathers -- make thy spirit strong With wisdom of the past, Then speak thy doctrine, that its days be long And that thy kingdom last. Condemn not life -- by one sole law all things Are hurried on their way: The ocean rages and the serpent stings As thou dost sin and pray. Love not -- all sorrow comes from loving life And from desire all pains. Sell not for love thy freedom to a wife; Love goes, the bond remains. Think not to die -- for when thy body lies Beneath a graven stone, Thy soul shall read there, through a stranger's eyes, The deeds it once had done. Seek truth -- but lightly hold its counterfeit In mortal thought or word. The brain is full of sound: the infinite Remains unseen, unheard. Envy not men -- rejoice if something fair To thy dim eyes is shown, But know that all the beauty that is there Some god hath called his own. Strive not -- but free thy bosom and resign Thy wish and thy endeavour, And the sweet kernel of the good is thine, Since peace is thine for ever. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AFTER TWO YEARS by RICHARD ALDINGTON NOT TRANSHISTORICAL DEATH, OR AT LEAST NOT QUITE by HAYDEN CARRUTH DELUSION by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON SUPREME by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE POET SPEAKS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE SLAVE TRADE: VIEW FROM THE MIDDLE PASSAGE by CLARENCE MAJOR |