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499
Song
We Have No Ship at Sea
When thoughtlessly two lamps were burned,
'Twas in our poverty,
“We need but one,” we oft were told,
“We have no ship at sea.”
'Twas in our poverty,
“We need but one,” we oft were told,
“We have no ship at sea.”
“For oil is dear, it will not do
To use it thus so free;
Two lamps we cannot now afford,
We have no ship at sea.”
To use it thus so free;
Two lamps we cannot now afford,
We have no ship at sea.”
How oft this proverb comes to mind,
As, looking round, I see
The idle, wasteful, ignorant,
Who have no ships at sea.
As, looking round, I see
The idle, wasteful, ignorant,
Who have no ships at sea.
They will not work, they will not save,
That prosperous they may be;
That, when to manhood they have come,
They may have ships at sea.
That prosperous they may be;
That, when to manhood they have come,
They may have ships at sea.
In youth they will not knowledge seek,
Of wealth and power the key;
They learn no trades to live at home,
Nor how to sail the sea.
Of wealth and power the key;
They learn no trades to live at home,
Nor how to sail the sea.
'Tis knowledge, thrift, and honest toil,
That brings prosperity;
These make men prosper on the land,
And have their ships at sea.
That brings prosperity;
These make men prosper on the land,
And have their ships at sea.
Poem No. 796; c. 10 October 1876
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