Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE PRICE, by BERTON BRALEY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE PRICE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Whatever of freedom we own
Last Line: Unless you are willing to fight for it.
Subject(s): Courage; Valor; Bravery


Whatever of freedom we own
Somebody has striven and tried for it;
By war through the years it has grown
By strength of the men who have died for it;
Each stone in the structure of truth—
Some one has made ready and right for it.
Some one has spent heart's blood and youth,
Some one has been willing to fight for it.

Not always has blood been the pay
But always a price has been paid for it;
The worth of achievement to-day
Is gauged by the struggle we've made for it.
There need not be rancor or hate
Nor bitterness, terror and blight for it,
But nothing is worthy or great
Unless you are willing to fight for it.

You cannot buy progress with gold
(You get but the emptiest shell of it);
But to win it and earn it and hold
You must go through the heat and the hell of it,
You must suffer the sweat and the pain,
You must toil all the day and the night for it,
For nothing worth while you can gain
Unless you are willing to fight for it.





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