To do your little bit of toil, <br />To play life's game with head erect; <br />To stoop to nothing that would soil <br />Your honor or your self-respect; <br />To win what gold and fame you can, <br />But first of all to be a man. <br /> <br />To know the bitter and the sweet, <br />The sunshine and the days of rain; <br />To meet both victory and defeat, <br />Nor boast too loudly nor complain; <br />To face whatever fates befall <br />And be a man throughout it all. <br /> <br />To seek success in honest strife, <br />But not to value it so much <br />That, winning it, you go through life <br />Stained by dishonor's scarlet touch. <br />What goal or dream you choose, pursue, <br />But be a man whate'er you do!<br /><br />Edgar Albert Guest<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/duty-13/
