There has been many a grander deed since man had life to give, <br />And thousands have gone to certain death, eyes open, that men might live; <br />And many have gone for their country’s sake, when their numbers were all too few, <br />And bravely died that their mates may die—to show what a man can do. <br /> <br />Now this is the song of La Bella wreck at the harbour of Warnambool, <br />And this is the song of a brave, brave man of the grand old simple school: <br />We all know the forces of circumstance, and we blame not the lifeboat crew— <br />But this is the song of a fisherman who showed what a man can do. <br /> <br />With a single scull in his strong young hands, and his brave young eyes aglow, <br />He shot his skill o’er the raging hell, where the lifeboat dared not go! <br />It was twice and thrice that he went again, and the lives they were only two— <br />But this is the song of The Man Who Knows, and can show what a man can do. <br /> <br />And we need such deeds in this world of ours, lest the hearts of men might fail— <br />Oh we need such deeds in this world of ours, and a man to tell the tale! <br />When the eloquent gestures come from the wreck, and never a word comes through— <br />Oh, we need such deeds in our land to-day to show what a man can do! <br /> <br />And this is the moral of all that is, <br />And it’s only known to two <br />Put out in your dinghy with confidence, <br />To show what a man can do.<br /><br />Henry Lawson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-show-what-a-man-can-do/
