Poems (Chitwood)/Bow to None but God

by Mary Louisa Chitwood

BOW TO NONE BUT GOD.

Turn thy face to the sunshine!
 Let nothing cast thee down,
While Truth upon thy forehead
 Rests blazing like a crown.
Look up! nor fear nor falter,
 Tho' a monarch press the sod—
Soar upward like an eagle,
 And bow to none but God!

Cringe not to Wealth's proud children,
 Though robed in garments fine—
Give not an inch! the pathway
 Is theirs not more than thine;
Let thy stern eye confront them,
 Bearer of hoe or hod,
Onward and upward, ever
 Bow thou to none but God!

Look up! be brave and steadfast,
 Press onward to thy goal;
Art thou not the possessor
 Of an immortal soul?
Soul bought by throes of anguish,
 In the garden where He trod
Soul, costly as a monarch's:
 Bow thou to none but God!

Shall thy cheek flush with crimson
 Before the world-called great?
Wilt thou fawn meekly, humbly
 To that thy heart must hate?
Wilt thou bow to the oppressor
 With courtly beck and nod?
No! stand like some strong mountain,
 And bow to none but God!

Onward! let slander's arrows
 Pass by in silent scorn;
Let malice die in darkness,
 It was in darkness born;
Let Falsehood perish writhing
 'Neath Truth's unsparing rod,
She is the best avenger:
 Bow thou to none but God!

Onward! and plant thy harvest,
 Whate'er the world may say;
No serpent's hiss beguile thee
 A moment from thy way.
If the way be very humble
 O'er which thy feet have trod,
Go on, with soul unbending,
 And bow to none but God!

No, never! while thy bosom
 Has a heart-throb within,
Let thy free tongue be silent
 When the rich and mighty sin.
Look up! nor fear nor falter,
 Though a monarch press the sod;
He is but man, weak, erring:
 Bow thou to none but God!