Short Flights by Meredith Nicholson - HTML preview

A KIND OF MAN.

I like a man who all mean things despises,

A man who has a purpose firm and true;

Who faces every doubt as it arises,

And murmurs not at what he finds to do.

I like a man who shows the noble spirit

Displayed by knights of Arthur’s table round;

Who, face to face with life, proves his real merit,

Who has a soul that dwells above the ground;

And yet, one who can understand the worry

Of some chance brother fallen in the road,

And speak to him a kind word ’mid the hurry,

Or lay an easing hand upon his load.

Large hearted, brave-souled men to-day are needed,

Men ready when occasion’s doors swing wide;

Grand men to speak the counsel that is heeded,

And men in whom a nation may confide.

The world is wide, and broad its starry arches,

But lagging malcontents it cannot hold;

The way of life to him who upright marches,

Has ending in a far-off street of gold.