Poems of Passion — 80 - Earnestness

With trembling hands I put the sheet away;

Ah, little song!

the sad and bitter truth Struck like an arrow when we met that day!

My life has missed the promise of its youth.

EARNESTNESS.

The hurry of the times affects us so In this swift rushing hour, we crowd and press And thrust each other backward as we go, And do not pause to lay sufficient stress Upon that good, strong, true word, Earnestness.

In our impetuous haste, could we but know Its full, deep meaning, its vast import, oh, Then might we grasp the secret of success!

In that receding age when men were great, The bone and sinew of their purpose lay In this one word.

God likes an earnest soul-- Too earnest to be eager.

Soon or late It leaves the spent horde breathless by the way, And stands serene, triumphant at the goal.