Come, my friends,
’Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, …for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles….
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892)
Read this poem aloud, it is breathtakingly beautiful. This speaks of the desire to set off and travel into life, to plumb its depths, to embrace life and even though we are all aging, as he says “that which we are, we are. One equal temper of heroic hearts.”
In light of many events in the world today, I feel his poem is particularly poignant and apt, for myself anyway, particularly his line:
“Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.”
May we continue to seek, strive, to find and definitely not to yield to the increasingly narrow minded, harsh way in which certain countries around the world behave towards one another. I know it has always been this way, since time immemorial, but sometimes we need to be reminded to continue the good fight. So this morning, I wanted to post this beautiful, transcendent poem to anyone who wanted to read. Let us not cease to hold those values we know to be true and just and right. Let us strive and seek and find and not yield to the increasing violence and hate in the world. Let us not yield. 🙂
Suzanne Strong 