 | Areytos or songs and ballads of the South |  |
58
STRIKE!—AS SAID THE ANVIL.
I.
Strike!—as said the anvil to the hammer—Strike! and never let your iron cool;
Up head, my boy! speak bravely!—do not stammer,
Lest all the world should write you down a fool!
We have no time allowed for shilly-shally,
But seventy years allotted to the best:
Down with the rock, tear up the fertile valley,
Work out your purpose—leave to God the rest!
II.
You have a purpose—should have—then begin itAn earnest working purpose is a power,
Which, if you straightway seize upon the minute,
Will make its progress surer every hour.
Build up your fortunes by it—lay them deeply—
Make your foundations sure!—then, day by day,
Raise up your walls—a fortress—never cheaply—
Good purposes demand a large outlay!
III.
Strength, faith, devotion, toil, and resolution!—These make your capital—these freely spend:
Once sure of your design, the execution
Needs all that you can give it, to the end.
Oh, boy!—man!—what a world is in the keeping
Of him who nobly aims and bravely toils!
Speed to the work!—we'll all have time for sleeping,
When we have shuffled off these mortal coils.
| Areytos or songs and ballads of the South | |