By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(1807-1882)
What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
"Life is but an empty dream!"
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,"
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Finds us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing
Learn to labor and to wait.
Source: Poets dot org
...collection of gems...
BEATING HEART
"Many a beating heart is silenced by the tyranny of indifference." ~Michael Faudet
THE PUREST PLACE
"Retrace your steps and go back to the purest place in your heart… where your hope lives. You’ll find your way again.” ~Everwood (Trust Your Journey)
FIERCE WARRIOR
“May you always walk in Beauty.” ~Black Elk
Beauty in the heart
Coming from within
Fearless and bold
Brave and strong.
A Lioness by day
A Tigress by night
She drives all evils at bay.
Don't you dare her
Though her soul is simple
And she appears to be naive
She's a fierce warrior you see!
Her spear and shield are ready
Beware not to cross her path.
© Leah C Dancel
Copyright © April 26, 2022
All rights reserved
SH-AUSTRALIA
DARE and DREAM
Lovingly yours,
A BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
"Great teachers don't always have the best lessons. But they always have the best relationships with kids." ~Songs for Teaching
INSPIRATION
"Inspiration is everything. Go and create something," ~Jac Vanek
PEACEFUL MOMENT
Of my revered solitude
Poetry for Inspiration
The waves that sweep your heart and soul with love. ~lcd
Hour of Elegance
ABOUT A POETESS
(Dedicatory Poem by Yesu Ben)
Between love child's great mind and those
of our earth is a middle course,
A mid point hence the bridge be cast
from our side halfway mooring mast.
Within her mind’s a mystery
of intersecting unplumbed force
She reads the mind of sun and moon
and those which conduct seasons' course,
the manners of the stars and worlds,
their births, and deaths, and their returns.
That bipeds we be or some such,
let intellect light up and burn.
obscure to seen, atom to star
a lavish flash, don’t your eyes blink.
what veiled romance keeps her pen filled
with mighty heaven's wondrous ink?
12 October 2018
LOVING WISHES
"How sweet are the words spoken between friends
Just like a balm that heals or a needle that mends."
~Patricia Grantham~
From Poem Hunter
MY DREAM BOAT
"I dreamt we were sailing down a perfectly still stream." ~Not Long Left from Poem Hunter
Three Score 2010
GREAT POET
"The greatest poet is one who knows one when she sees one. Like a doctor, she dissects one with an incisive mind and can immediately can tell if it is malignant or cancerous. She probes the mind of the poet and looks into the gray matter whether it is infused with wisdom or not. She looks into the heart of the poet, and you know when she is affected by what she reads when she comments with her emojis. ...Rare breed this poet of our contemporary times. Congratulations Leah Dancel!" ~Crispulo Bacud Tappa
Gallery
Serenity