the wild geese sailing high--
And all over upland and lowland
The charm of the golden rod--
Some of us call it Autumn,
And others call it God.
Like tides on a crescent sea beach,
When the moon is new and thin,
Into our hearts high yearnings
Come welling and surging in--
Come from the mystic ocean,
Whose rim no foot has trod--
Some of us call it Longing,
And others call it God.
A picket frozen on duty--
A mother starved for her brood--
Socrates drinking the hemlock,
And Jesus on the rood;
And millions who, humble and nameless,
The straight, hard pathway trod--
Some call it Consecration,
And others call it God.
--William Herbert Carruth.
THE HIGHER FELLOWSHIP
Do you go to my school?
Yes, you go to my school,
And we've learned the big lesson--Be strong!
And to front the loud noise
With a spirit of poise,
And drown down the noise with a song.
We have spelled the first line in the Primer of Fate;
We have spelled it, and dare not to shirk--
For its first and its greatest commandment to men
Is "Work, and rejoice in your work."
Who is learned in this Primer will not be a fool--
You are one of my classmates. You go to my school.
You belong to my club?
Yes, you're one of my club,
And this is our program and plan:
To each do his part
To look into the heart
And get at the good that's in man.
Detectives of virtue and spies of the good
And sleuth-hounds of righteousness we.
Look out there, my brother! we're hot on your trail,
We'll find out how good you can be.
We would drive from our hearts the snake, tiger, and cub;
We're the Lodge of the Lovers. You're one of my club.
You belong to my church?
Yes, you go to my church--
Our names on the same old church roll--
The tide-waves of God
We believe are abroad
And flow into the creeks of each soul.
And the vessel we sail on is strong as the sea
That buffets and blows it about;
For the sea is God's sea as the ship is God's ship,
So we know not the meaning of doubt;
And we know howsoever the vessel may lurch
We've a Pilot to trust in. You go to my church.
--Sam Walter Foss.
Never elated while one man's oppressed;
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