Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A SERMON FOR YOUNG FOLKS, by ALICE CARY



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A SERMON FOR YOUNG FOLKS, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Don't ever go hunting for pleasures
Last Line: Why, then you may trust for the rest.
Subject(s): Advice


DON'T ever go hunting for pleasures --
They cannot be found thus I know;
Nor yet fall a-digging for treasures,
Unless with the spade and the hoe!

The bee has to work for the honey,
The drone has no right to the food,
And he who has not earned his money
Will get out of his money no good.

The ant builds her house with her labor,
The squirrel looks out for his mast,
And he who depends on his neighbor
Will never have friends, first or last.

In short, 't is no better than thieving,
Though thief is a harsh name to call;
Good things to be always receiving,
And never to give back at all.

And do not put off till to-morrow
The thing that you ought to do now,
But first set the share in the furrow,
And then set your hand to the plough.

The time is too short to be waiting,
The day maketh haste to the night,
And it's just as hard work to be hating
Your work as to do it outright.

Know this, too, before you are older,
And all the fresh morning is gone,
Who puts to the world's wheel a shoulder
Is he that will move the world on!

Don't weary out will with delaying,
And when you are crowded, don't stop;
Believe me there's truth in the saying:
"There always is room at the top."

To conscience be true, and to man true,
Keep faith, hope, and love, in your breast,
And when you have done all you can do,
Why, then you may trust for the rest.





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