 | The Poetical Works of Walter C. Smith |  |
SUCCESS
I have done well, I said, for I have found
My place in life, the work that I can do,
And in my garret, spurning the low ground,
I can, at least, be manful, free, and true.
My place in life, the work that I can do,
And in my garret, spurning the low ground,
I can, at least, be manful, free, and true.
Nameless, I go about, and sometimes hear
The whisper of a fame that is to come;
They wot not who I am, and I appear
All unconcerned with that low-gathering hum.
The whisper of a fame that is to come;
They wot not who I am, and I appear
All unconcerned with that low-gathering hum.
It is like being dead, and hearing what
Verdict of history may one day speak;
And now I laugh, and now I wonder at
Myself, that I can be so vain and weak.
Verdict of history may one day speak;
And now I laugh, and now I wonder at
Myself, that I can be so vain and weak.
But when I think, here will I make my nest,
Ah me! the nest unfeathered is and cold,
But sticks and thorns whereon there is no rest,
And never love its weary wings could fold.
Ah me! the nest unfeathered is and cold,
But sticks and thorns whereon there is no rest,
And never love its weary wings could fold.
There is a little islet that I know,
Blue with forget-me-nots—a lonely spot,
And no bird nestles where their gold eyes grow:
'Tis just a home of long forget-me-not.
Blue with forget-me-nots—a lonely spot,
And no bird nestles where their gold eyes grow:
'Tis just a home of long forget-me-not.
So lonely and so barren is my lot,
Still dreaming, where the quiet water sleeps,
To win a name that shall not be forgot;
And that is all it either sows or reaps.
Still dreaming, where the quiet water sleeps,
To win a name that shall not be forgot;
And that is all it either sows or reaps.
| The Poetical Works of Walter C. Smith | |