Page:The poems of Richard Watson Gilder, Gilder, 1908.djvu/253

Rh Dawdling, drawling, silly,

Maundering, scarce a man;

Driven willy-nilly;

When he's dying will he

Run as once he ran,

Or quit him like a man?

Vile from out the wrack

Crawls he less than man;

Cowering in his track

Beaten, broken, black;

Curse him if you can—

Death may make him man.

In life the wretch did naught

Worthy of a man;

Now by Death he's caught,

What a change is wrought!

Whom the world did ban

Quits life like a man.

Braced stiff against the wall,

Behold, at last, a man.

Lost—life and honor, all!

At Death's quick touch and call

See, the craven can

Quit him like a man.

"CAME TO A MASTER OF SONG"

to a master of song

And the human heart

One who had followed him long

And worshiped his art;