It isn't the talk that will count, boys, But the doing that springs from the talk. To what will your walking amount, boys, With no goal at the end of your walk? What's the use of a ladder set up, boys, With the end resting only on air? What's the use of a nobly filled cup, boys, If no one to drink it is there? What's the use of a capital plan, boys, That never is more than a scheme? He makes a poor, scatter-brained man, boys, That begins in his boyhood to dream. No; talk on and plan as you will, boys, But remember, if you would succeed, It isn't the talk that shows skill, boys, But the end of the talking, -- the deed! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PHOSPHORESCENT MAN by KAREN SWENSON AMERICA (1) by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE BATTLEFIELD by EMILY DICKINSON THE PHANTOM SHIP by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE WORMS AT HEAVEN'S GATE by WALLACE STEVENS COMPANION OF QUIET by JOSEPH AUSLANDER |