Page:The man against the sky; a book of poems.djvu/135

 "That I have paid for being calm Is what you see, if you have eyes; For let a man be calm too long, He pays for much before he dies.

"Be calm when you are growing old And you have nothing else to do; Pour not the wine of life too thin If water means the death of you.

"You say I might have learned at home The truth in season to be strong? Not so; I took the wine of life Too thin, and I was calm too long.

"Like others who are strong too late, For me there was no going back; For I had found another speed, And I was on the other track.