Poems (Howard)/Thought Cannot Die
Thought Cannot Die.
The costly tablet man may rear, And on its polished face With careful hand from year to year, His deeds of valor trace; Proclaiming thus to human ken His worth and right to claim Due homage from his fellow-men, And hope for lasting fame.
The storied temple he may build, And deck its altar-shrine With handicraft, refined and skilled. And jewels from the mine; May past unworthiness efface And make his glory sure, By giving in its aisles a place To God's deserving poor.
His skill may make a palace-car Luxurious in ease, While wind and wave shall bear afar His freighted argosies; Some favored turn of Fortune's wheel The wealth of earth may pour In coffers that shall scarce conceal Their overflowing store.
Upon the rough-hewn stepping-stones Of poverty and want He may ascend, till kingly thrones His spirit shall not daunt; For on his ladder's highest round, Proud monarchs shall revere The hero true, by valor crowned, And own him as their peer.
But stately tower or battlement Shall yield to slow decay, Bright honor, fame, emolument— All these shall pass away; And, as alike o'er good and bad, The marble shaft shall rise, This epitaph, suggestive, sad, Is written, "Here he lies!"
While he who frees a golden thought Upon the wings of Time Hath unawares and wisely wrought A deed far more sublime; For this shall live, beneficent, Inspiring hope and trust When tower and fane and monument Have crumbled into dust.