day no. 14,821: to dare and to die!

FROM MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD AND OTHER POEMS, 1895 
By John M. Morse 

From the zenith afar, with its vertical ray— 
Shines the sun in its splendor, the glory of day. 
Tho’ dark clouds should arise to bedim its clear light, 
They are scattered away by its power and might. 

In the noontide of life there is strength for the hour; 
It is then that man reaches his zenith of power. 
With an arm for the conflict, a brain that can plan— 
All his trials but make him a manlier man. 

Like the oak on the hillside, majestic in form: 
Like the ship on the ocean, prepared for the storm; 
When that storm would engulf, or would dash to the ground, 
They come forth from the conflict with victory crowned. 

What a power for good is a man in his prime, 
Who will stand for the right with a firmness sublime; 
Who will stand in his place with truth’s banner unfurled, 
Who will let his light shine for the good of the world. 

When an enemy threatens the life of the State, 
When all own, with sad hearts, that the peril is great; 
When devouring flames shoot up higher and higher, 
And destruction stalks forth as a fiend in the fire— 

When by famine or sword, or by pestilence dread, 
Many thousands are called to lie down with the dead. 
When gross evils abound, and the wicked increase, 
And we sigh for the joys and the triumphs of peace— 

In such perilous times man’s true manhood appears: 
It has grown with his growth and has strengthened with years. 
When his country needs help—when the danger is nigh— 
He is ready, if need be, to dare and to die! 

When the fiend in the fire has his victims at bay, 
Or when famine and sword by the thousands would slay; 
Or when pestilence—swift—for its victims would fly— 
Then true manhood shines forth, brightest star in the sky.