Page:Poems Howard.djvu/19

Upon the rough-hewn stepping-stones
 Of poverty and want
He may ascend, till kingly thrones
 His spirit shall not daunt;
For on his ladder's highest round,
 Proud monarchs shall revere
The hero true, by valor crowned,
 And own him as their peer.

But stately tower or battlement
 Shall yield to slow decay,
Bright honor, fame, emolument—
 All these shall pass away;
And, as alike o'er good and bad,
 The marble shaft shall rise,
This epitaph, suggestive, sad,
 Is written, "Here he lies!"

While he who frees a golden thought
 Upon the wings of Time
Hath unawares and wisely wrought
 A deed far more sublime;
For this shall live, beneficent,
 Inspiring hope and trust
When tower and fane and monument
 Have crumbled into dust.