Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/135
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PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE.
117
Bide your time!—your worst transgression
Were to strike, and strike in vain;
He whose arm would smite oppression
Must not need to smite again!
Were to strike, and strike in vain;
He whose arm would smite oppression
Must not need to smite again!
Danger makes the brave man steady—
Rashness is the coward's crime—
Be for freedom's battle ready
When it comes—But bide your time!
Rashness is the coward's crime—
Be for freedom's battle ready
When it comes—But bide your time!
Paddle Your Own Canoe.
Voyager upon life's sea, to yourself be true,
And where'er your lot may be, "Paddle your own canoe!"
Never, though the winds may rave, falter nor look back;
But upon the darkest wave leave a shining track.
And where'er your lot may be, "Paddle your own canoe!"
Never, though the winds may rave, falter nor look back;
But upon the darkest wave leave a shining track.
Nobly dare the wildest storm, stem the hardest gale;
Brave of heart and strong of arm, you will never fail.
When the world is cold and dark, keep an aim in view;
And toward the beacon-mark "Paddle your own canoe!"
Brave of heart and strong of arm, you will never fail.
When the world is cold and dark, keep an aim in view;
And toward the beacon-mark "Paddle your own canoe!"
Every wave that bears you on to the silent shore,
From its sunny source has gone, to return no more:
Then let not an hour's delay cheat you of your due;
But, while it is called to day, "Paddle your own canoe!"
From its sunny source has gone, to return no more:
Then let not an hour's delay cheat you of your due;
But, while it is called to day, "Paddle your own canoe!"
If your birth denied you wealth, lofty state and power,
Honest fame and hardy health are a better dower:
But, if these will not suffice, golden gain pursue;
And to gain the glittering prize, "Paddle your own canoe!"
Honest fame and hardy health are a better dower:
But, if these will not suffice, golden gain pursue;
And to gain the glittering prize, "Paddle your own canoe!"
Would you wrest the wreath of fame from the hand of fate?
Would you write a deathless name with the good and great?
Would you bless your fellow-men? Heart and soul imbue
With the holy task, and then "Paddle your own canoe!"
Would you write a deathless name with the good and great?
Would you bless your fellow-men? Heart and soul imbue
With the holy task, and then "Paddle your own canoe!"
Would you crush the tyrant wrong, in the world's free fight?
With a spirit brave and strong, battle for the right:
And to break the chains that bind the many to the few—
To enfranchise slavish mind—"Paddle your own canoe!"
With a spirit brave and strong, battle for the right:
And to break the chains that bind the many to the few—
To enfranchise slavish mind—"Paddle your own canoe!"