32
Failure.
Be sure the flowers that round thee grow,
Are heavenly plants,—take heed
They be not artificial ones,
That bear no spirit seed.
Are heavenly plants,—take heed
They be not artificial ones,
That bear no spirit seed.
For half the world can ill discern
The spurious from the true,
The tinsel from the virgin ore,
The many from the few.
The spurious from the true,
The tinsel from the virgin ore,
The many from the few.
But heed thyself, and light the torch
Down in the labyrinth still;
And look into the chemistry
Of thine own intentioned will.
Down in the labyrinth still;
And look into the chemistry
Of thine own intentioned will.
Then analyze each separate part
In the crucible of truth,
Take heed the dross floats on the top,
Then weigh the gold—forsooth!
In the crucible of truth,
Take heed the dross floats on the top,
Then weigh the gold—forsooth!
And never say, "I've failed in work,"
While strength and youth still chime;
And on life's shore the waves still flow,
These restless waves of time.
While strength and youth still chime;
And on life's shore the waves still flow,
These restless waves of time.
