Sing out, my soul, thy songs of joy;
Sing as a happy bird will sing
Beneath a rainbow's lovely arch
In the spring.
Think not of death in thy young days;
Why shouldst thou that grim tyrant fear?
And fear him not when thou art old,
And he is near.
Strive not for gold, for greedy fools
Measure themselves by poor men never;
Their standard still being richer men,
Makes them poor ever.
Train up thy mind to feel content,
What matters then how low thy store?
What we enjoy, and not possess,
Makes rich or poor.
Filled with sweet thought, then happy I
Take not my state from other's eyes;
What's in my mind — not on my flesh
Or theirs — I prize.
Sing, happy soul, thy songs of joy;
Such as a Brook sings in the wood,
That all night has been strengthened by
Heaven's purer flood.
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Comments
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After reading this poem, it occured to me that poetry has been changed over time--and that change is a big one. Here we see some really nice usage of words. These words have a ring to them, reading the complete poem creates a mental picture. Such an optimistic piece of work. The author must have been in a light mood-or had been appreaciating life without judging it. My favorite line would be:
"Their standard still being richer men,
Makes them poor ever." --it's true, how even rich people can be poor in ways we think is impossible. -
I love it, it conveys that rich men are the poorest of them all, they have everything, yet as it seems, they have nothing, they think they can buy everything, yet the one thing that money can't buy, is normally the one thing they don't have, love...........I thank Lady Wiccae for the chance of this read........A great write and so true, no matter which century this would have been written in, it rings out true........
sanity.
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This is so inspiring and happy. I agree with many of what he says here. For example, stanza 2. We should not fear death, whether young or old. We should be grateful for what we have now. And what is in ourselves, not by others. We shouldn't be materialists, but be content in what we love. I do really like this poem. It's insightful and uplifting.
Cathy
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