The force of patience: conqueringly mild, It wins its way as noiseless as the sun; Its kingdom is the kingdom of a child, And while men sleep its magic deeds are done. The force of firmness: granite melts away Beneath the pressure of a steady will; Heedless of all the hinderers do or say, It urges irresistible and still. The force of kindliness: what power lies Within the gentle clasp of homely wit! The light of brotherhood in kindling eyes -- Why, half the world is servitor to it. The force of hope: superbly it believes, And ever finds the royal thing it knows; It asks, and in the asking it receives, Itself the happy goal to which it goes. Patience and firmness, kindliness and hope, The four-square walls of wisdom's tenement, How blessedly are these your fee and scope, Our scholar prince, our Princeton President! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VARIATIONS: 17 by CONRAD AIKEN CAMPUS SONNET: RETURN - 1917 by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET MY FATHER'S FACE by HAYDEN CARRUTH NAMING FOR LOVE by HAYDEN CARRUTH FOR WALT WHITMAN by DAVID IGNATOW |