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...YOUTH IMPERTURBABLE by CONRAD AIKEN ABANDONED RANCH, BIG BEND by HAYDEN CARRUTH TWILIGHT COMES by HAYDEN CARRUTH RETROSPECT by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE POET SPEAKS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON DEDICATION OF THE FIRST SONNETS TO A FRIEND ... by GEORGE SANTAYANA |