WALL have fights to make with self, <br />And these are the bitterest fights of all, <br />Worse than the fight for a hoard of pelf <br />Is the fight to master our vices small; <br />Worse than the fight on the battle line <br />Is the struggle that many a man goes through <br />To rid himself of the thirst for wine, <br />That he may live as he wants to do. <br /> <br />Temptation knocks at the good priest's door, <br />And fierce is the struggle within his breast, <br />But he kneels and prays till the siege is o'er <br />And rises a victor in the test. <br />And man and woman must fight as he <br />The things of self that would drag us down, <br />And over ourselves get the mastery <br />Else all we gain is a paper crown. <br /> <br />Oh, the fight for wealth and the fight for fame, <br />The fight for glory and world applause; <br />The struggle, too, for an honored name, <br />And I 'd list the fight for a noble cause, <br />Are simple things, if the truth were known, <br />Compared to the struggle a man goes through <br />In his fight with self, when he's all alone, <br />To live a life that is clean and true.<br /><br />Edgar Albert Guest<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-fight-with-self/
