Poems (Markham)/The dream of ambition

by Elizabeth Markham

The Dream of Ambition

By MRS. ELIZABETH MARKHAM

The dream of ambition! Ye sloth, hear the sound,
Cease digging in darkness like moles in the ground!
Break off those strong fetters! lift up your dull eye;
And learn ye this lesson, the sun shines on high.

No longer go creeping like snails on the ground;
Preferment by sluggards has never been found.
The dream of ambition, young man, hear the call,
Nor suffer intemperance your souls to enthrall.

Be wise, shun the viper, it wounds you, it kills—
The poisonous infection produced by the still.
Disdain such pollution, stand firm on your guard!
In life a high station, in death a reward!

Washington and Franklin, have you read of their names?
How they arose from obscurity to a pinnacle of fame,
Till their fame does resound upon sea as on shore?
At the name of our Washington how the cannons do roar.

Napoleon's ambition would conquer a world,
But down from that pinnacle the tyrant was hurled.
Let youth then take warning; seek fame and renown
By conquering their follies, their vices bring down.

No ignorance or darkness pervades o'er that mind
Where talent, ambition and virtue combine.
O! glorious ambition! O! who could forbear
To nourish that plant in his bosom with care?

Its a gem worth possessing, when well understood,
It leadeth man up to the throne of his God;
He will gird on his armour, prepare for the fray,
Lose life, perhaps honor, in winning the day.

He will never cease rowing up the river of fame
Till his bark reach the fountain—the summit attain.
The dream will cease then, and the tale will be told
And engraved on his tombstone in letters of gold.

Oregon City, January 1, 1850.
Oregon Spectator, January 10, 1850.