Write Thou Upon Life's Pages

Leave thou some light behind thee,
Some mark upon thine age;
Let not a false fate bind thee —
Write thou upon life's page,

Some word of earnest meaning,
Some thought, or else some deed,
On which thy brother leaning,
Unto better may succeed.

For none may tell what beauty,
What endless good there lies,
In some little nameless duty,
Whose remembrance never dies.

Leave thou some light behind thee,
Some token of thy way;
Let not a false ease bind thee —
Thou art not wholly clay.

There is something noble in thee,
Let it speak and not be mute;
There is something that should win thee
From a kindred with the brute.

Thou are not, oh! my brother,
Wholly impotent for good!
Thou may'st win or warn another
From the wrongs thou hast withstood.

Leave thou some trace behind thee —
In life's warfare, go, engage;
Let no more a false fate bind thee —
Write thou upon life's page.