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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE MAN; ADDRESSED TO MY ALMA MATER by SAMUEL VALENTINE COLE

First Line: YOU SENT THE MAN: HE BUILDED WELL
Last Line: THE STORY OF A MAN.
Subject(s): ROMANCE;

YOU sent the man: he builded well,
And steadfastly, and long,
Until a grateful people saw
Its lordliest Tower of Song.

You sent the man: in silence rose,
Defying time and chance,
A thing of splendor in the land,—
Its Palace of Romance.

You sent the man: in quiet ways
He wrought, nor sought renown;
But in the end the Sultan's throne
Of shame came tumbling down.

You sent the man: he helped to shape
The nation's fate, because
He blazed a path which they must take
Henceforth who give it laws.

You sent the man: seeking afar
The world-sought, age-long goal,
He pushed through perilous ways, and grasped
The secret of the Pole.

However far the purpose run,
Or splendid be the plan,
The glory of achievement means
The story of a man.



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