It Can Be Done Part 19

He that has light within his own clear breast May sit i' the center, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the midday sun; Himself is his own dungeon.

_John Milton._

THE THINGS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE

It is said that if you hold a stick in front of the foremost sheep in a flock that files down a trail in the mountains, he will jump it--and that every sheep thereafter will jump when he reaches the spot, even if the stick be removed. So are many people mere unthinking imitators, blind to facts and opportunities about them. Kentucky could not be lived in by the white race till Daniel Boone built his cabin there. The air was not part of the domain of humanity till the Wright brothers made themselves birdmen.

The things that haven't been done before, Those are the things to try; Columbus dreamed of an unknown sh.o.r.e At the rim of the far-flung sky, And his heart was bold and his faith was strong As he ventured in dangers new, And he paid no heed to the jeering throng Or the fears of the doubting crew.

The many will follow the beaten track With guideposts on the way, They live and have lived for ages back With a chart for every day.

Someone has told them it's safe to go On the road he has traveled o'er, And all that they ever strive to know Are the things that were known before.

A few strike out, without map or chart, Where never a man has been, From the beaten paths they draw apart To see what no man has seen.

There are deeds they hunger alone to do; Though battered and bruised and sore, They blaze the path for the many, who Do nothing not done before.

The things that haven't been done before Are the tasks worth while to-day; Are you one of the flock that follows, or Are you one that shall lead the way?

Are you one of the timid souls that quail At the jeers of a doubting crew, Or dare you, whether you win or fail, Strike out for a goal that's new?

_Edgar A. Guest._

From "A Heap o' Livin'."

THE HAS-BEENS

I read the papers every day, and oft encounter tales which show there's hope for every jay who in life's battle fails. I've just been reading of a gent who joined the has-been ranks, at fifty years without a cent, or credit at the banks. But undismayed he buckled down, refusing to be beat, and captured fortune and renown; he's now on Easy Street. Men say that fellows down and out ne'er leave the rocky track, but facts will show, beyond a doubt, that has-beens do come back. I know, for I who write this rhyme, when forty-odd years old, was down and out, without a dime, my whiskers full of mold. By black disaster I was trounced until it jarred my spine; I was a failure so p.r.o.nounced I didn't need a sign. And after I had soaked my coat, I said (at forty-three), "I'll see if I can catch the goat that has escaped from me." I labored hard; I strained my dome, to do my daily grind, until in triumph I came home, my billy-goat behind. And any man who still has health may with the winners stack, and have a chance at fame and wealth--for has-beens do come back.

_Walt Mason._

From "Walt Mason, His Book."

WISHING

Horace Greeley said that no one need fear the editor who indulged in diatribes against the prevalence of polygamy in Utah, but that malefactors had better look out when an editor took up his pen against abuses in his own city. We all tend to begin our reforms too far away from home. The man who wishes improvement strongly enough to set to work on himself is the man who will obtain results.

Do you wish the world were better?

Let me tell you what to do.

Set a watch upon your actions, Keep them always straight and true.

Rid your mind of selfish motives, Let your thoughts be clean and high.

You can make a little Eden Of the sphere you occupy.

Do you wish the world were wiser?

Well, suppose you make a start, By acc.u.mulating wisdom In the sc.r.a.pbook of your heart; Do not waste one page on folly; Live to learn, and learn to live.

If you want to give men knowledge You must get it, ere you give.

Do you wish the world were happy?

Then remember day by day Just to scatter seeds of kindness As you pa.s.s along the way, For the pleasures of the many May be ofttimes traced to one.

As the hand that plants an acorn Shelters armies from the sun.

_Ella Wheeler Wilc.o.x._

From "Poems of Power."

AWARENESS

A man must keep a keen sense of the drift and significance of what he is engaged in if he is to make much headway. Yet many human beings are so sunk in the routine of their work that they fail to realize what it is all for. A man who was tapping with a hammer the wheels of a railroad train remarked that he had been at the job for twenty-seven years. "What do you do when a wheel doesn't sound right?" a pa.s.senger inquired. The man was taken aback. "I never found one that sounded that way," said he.

G.o.d--let me be aware.

Let me not stumble blindly down the ways, Just getting somehow safely through the days, Not even groping for another hand, Not even wondering why it all was planned, Eyes to the ground unseeking for the light, Soul never aching for a wild-winged flight, Please, keep me eager just to do my share.

G.o.d--let me be aware.

G.o.d--let me be aware.

Stab my soul fiercely with others' pain, Let me walk seeing horror and stain.

Let my hands, groping, find other hands.

Give me the heart that divines, understands.

Give me the courage, wounded, to fight.

Flood me with knowledge, drench me in light.

Please--keep me eager just to do my share.

G.o.d--let me be aware.

_Miriam Teichner._