Madmoments: or First Verseattempts By a Bornnatural. Addressed to the Lightheaded of Society at Large, by Henry Ellison |
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ON SELFSEEKINGNESS. |
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 | Madmoments: or First Verseattempts |  |
ON SELFSEEKINGNESS.
1.
Care not thou merely for what is thine own:Thine own House, Children, Fortune, Family,
Nor even thine own Land alone: for by
So doing thou wilt lessen, tho' unknown
To thee, that which thou cherishest alone;
Thy little Stream of kindly Acts, of high—
-Er, nobler Thoughts and Cares, tho' seemingly
In the vast Ocean ever rolling on
Of human Affairs lost, will yet someday
Be in sweet Dews repay'd to the Springhead,
Which without these were dry: altho' it may
Seem as the Source were in thyself, 'tis fed
By means to which thou hast contributed
But little; from the years long fled away
2.
Before the Flood, from such far Sources flowThe daily Blessings which make Life so dear:
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True Freedom's holy temple, in which now
Thou worshipest, and liv'st, and breath'st, as tho'
It had been ever thus; and yet whose were
The Hands that lay'd the Cornerstone? which ne'er
Had been thus firmlyfixed had all thought so
As thou dost: labour then for others' Good,
'Tis but a surer Mode to reach thine own;
Of Man's high Heritage how little would
Fall to thy Share, hadst thou that part alone
Which thou thyself hast added; everyone
Is with the wealth of all Mankind endowed!
3.
Do all for all Men! let not one pass byThy Door unaided: and if thou hast naught
Besides to give, give that which all men ought
And can, a Debt due to Humanity;
For none should be so poor as to deny
A Kiss of Love, a Blessing, which have wrought
Oft far, far greater Good, than those have thought
Who gave them: for the truest charity
Is that of Heart to Heart! let thy Soul blend
With others, as Star blends with Star to light
The Heavens; not 'till all men's minds unite
Can Life's great Blessings mingle to one End.
Beat but the universal Heart aright
And to thine also Health and Strength 'twill lend,
For is not thine a pulse of it, a Vein
That bears the Lifeblood to it, and again
Receives it thence, more noble and more pure
By this Commingling for the common Good?
But if each Vein no longer bear its Blood
To the great Heart, Disease beyond all cure
Will seize on it, and these must perish too
With that from whence their Nourishment they drew!
| Madmoments: or First Verseattempts | |