THE FLOATING STRAW.

And when the night unveils its face,

I may float, unharmed, in my usual place,
And the ship may show to the pitying stars
No remnant but her broken spars.

Among the shells

In the ocean dells

The ships, the crews, and the captains lie,
But the floating straw looks up to the sky.
And the humble and contented man,
Unknown to fortune, escapes her ban,
And rides secure when breakers leap,
And mighty ships go down to the deep.

May pleasant breezes waft them home
That plough with their keels the driving foam.
Heaven be their hope, and Truth their law;
There needs no prayer for the floating straw.

331

A QUESTION ANSWERED

WHAT to do to make thy fame

Live beyond thee in the tomb?

And thine honorable name

Shine, a star, through History's gloom?

Seize the Spirit of thy Time,

Take the measure of his height,

Look into his eyes sublime,

And imbue thee with their light.

Know his words e'er they are spoken,
And with utterance loud and clear,

Firm, persuasive, and unbroken,
Breathe them in the people's ear.

Think whate'er the Spirit thinks,
Feel, thyself, whate'er he feels,
Drink at fountains where he drinks,
And reveal what he reveals.

A QUESTION ANSWERED.

And whate'er thy medium be,

Canvas, stone, or printed sheet, Fiction, or philosophy,

Or a ballad for the street;

Or, perchance, with passion fraught,
Spoken words, like lightnings thrown,

Tell the people all thy thought,

And the world shall be thine own.

333

WHAT MIGHT BE DONE.

WHAT might be done if men were wise

What glorious deeds, my suffering brother, Would they unite,

In love and right,

And cease their scorn of one another?

Oppression's heart might be imbued
With kindling drops of loving-kindness,
And knowledge pour,

From shore to shore,

Light on the eyes of mental blindness.

All slavery, warfare, lies, and wrongs,
All vice and crime might die together;
And wine and corn,

To each man born,

Be free as warmth in summer weather.

The meanest wretch that ever trod,

The deepest sunk in guilt and sorrow,
Might stand erect

In self-respect,

And share the teeming world to-morrow.

WHAT MIGHT BE DONE.

What might be done?

This might be done,

And more than this, my suffering brother

More than the tongue

Ever said or sung,

If men were wise and loved each other.

335