Immortal life is something to be earned, <br />By slow, self-conquest, comradeship with pain, <br />And patient seeking after higher truths. <br />We cannot follow our own wayward wills <br />And feed our baser appetites and give <br />Loose reins to foolish tempers, year on year, <br />And then cry, 'Lord, forgive me, I believe --' <br />And straightway bathe in glory. Men must learn <br />God's system is too great a thing for that; <br />The spark divine dwells in each soul, and we <br />Can fan it to a steady flame of light, <br />Whose lustre guilds the pathway of the tomb <br />And shines on through eternity, or else <br />Neglect it till it simmers down to death <br />And leaves us but the darkness of the grave. <br />Each conquered passion feeds the living flame; <br />Each well-borne sorrow is a step toward God. <br />Faith cannot rescue, and no blood redeem <br />The soul that will not reason and resolve. <br />Lean on thyself, yet prop thyself with prayer, <br />For these are spirits, messengers of light, <br />Who come at call and fortify thy strength, <br />Make friends with thee and with thine inner self, <br />Cast out all envy, bitterness, and hate. <br />And keep the mind's fair tabernacle pure; <br />Shake hands with Pain, give greeting unto Grief, <br />Those angels in disguise and thy glad soul, <br />From light to light from star to shining star, <br />Shall climb and claim blest immortality.'<br /><br />Ella Wheeler Wilcox<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/integrity-14/
