A Psalm of Life
What the Young Man Said to the Psalmist

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream! -
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
learn to labor and to wait.

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

The bigger (no pun intended) question is DOES MRS. W. LIKE YOUR LONGFELLOW?

MEN <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Awesome poem, MrW! Ya know in Texas only guys who wear pink boas read poems. YEE HAW! **snort** <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Mr W,

I have a couple of quotes I wanted to share.....I know you'll love these:

Watch your thoughts; they become your words. Watch your words; they become your actions. Watch your actions; they become your habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character for it will become your destiny.
-- Source Unknown



The circumstances amid which you live determine your reputation;
The truth you believe determines your character.
Reputation is what you are supposed to be;
Character is what you are.....
Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community;
Character is what you have when you go away.
Your reputation is made in a moment;
Your character is built in a lifetime.....
Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone;
Character is what the angels say about you before the throne
of God." - William Hersey Davis

Starfish;

This is precisely why I no longer wear a watch. Too much other stuff to "watch", wouldn't want to add "Watch your watch to see what time it is".

Actually, I gave up the watch when I left the practicing law in a law firm. Lived my life by billable hours. My feeling is that your thoughts immediately cease being in the NOW when you look at time. Questions arise like where did my day go, what do I have to be later and the like. Tough to live in the NOW that way.

NOW, I only where a watch on vacation...when I need to know when the swim up pool bar closes. A Wonderism no doubt.

And yes, Melody...I posted a poem. But I did do it about an hour before enjoying the kickoff of college football season. I took a half-time break to check in here.

Mr. Wondering

p.s.- HS, I am always willing and hopefull Mrs. W and I will discuss some Longfellow. Maybe later this evening.

A Psalm of Life. This is worth remembering.

Thanks for sharing. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Aloha,
L.

LOL Heartsore!!!

<img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

OH YEAH SHE SHO NUFF DO!!! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Mmmm...That Mr. W...He's "Poetry in Motion"<----and NOW I can't get that Thomas Dolby song outta my head!!! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Melody, I don't share my pink boa with NOBODY...PUHLEASE!!! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" /> Besides, dat boy Dubya be ALL MAN!!! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Anyway, nice post Mr. W...Wow, I must tell you I would NEVER have dreamed in a million years that you would be quoting Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...HUH, WHO KNEW? Mr. Wondering, my love, you are a WONDER! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Mrs. W <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Mrs W be a ho fo sho donchano

Bwhahahahaha

Shaddup Big Kangaroona You Silly Foreign HIMBO!!! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Mrs. W <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

OK, now I need to cleanse myself!

Welcome Back W's really missed you both.

Man i can feel the love right here in Jamaica.

Nuff respect and God bless.

pray for me too.

I love that poem.

Wayne Dyer has a book out called "Wisdom of the Ages" with a collection of many of the great poems such as this one. It is a great book to have in fact my BF has it and won't even let me borrow it. LOL He said it was like his Bible while going through a very tough time after losing a business he loved and a ten year relationship.

It would be a very good gift idea. wink, wink Mrs W.

From a popular book website -

"Dyer sets out to explain the meaning and context of each piece of wisdom, and, most important, to explain how we can actively apply these teachings to our modern lives. From sixty ancestral masters--Buddha, Michelangelo, Rumi, Whitman, Jesus, Emily Dickinson, and Emerson, among others--here are treasured passages on a variety of subjects, including solitude, time, and passion. Among the contributions are words on inspiration from Pantanjali (c. 1st to 3rd century b.c.), author of the Hindu classic, Yoga Sutras; teachings about the power of prayer from 13th-century monk St. Francis of Assisi; and thoughts about the importance of action written by Mother Teresa."