Classic Poem

Others may far outstrip thee:
Some by right
And other some perchance by lucky hap;
Or through sheer craft of knowing how to play
A game they've held in sight
Up from youth's earliest day,
Intent the prize — no matter how 't may be —
Should drop into their lap.

I give to thee no counsel,
Friend, and cry —
" Pass heedless of them vexing not thy mind
With scorn, or anger, or disdainful word,
Envying their seat on high:
Not once, not once be heard
That whispered sneer of — " Fair enough the shell!
Blank emptiness behind!" "

Yet are they very brethren:
Let them go
Through the world onward — it is theirs as thine:
They too must pay their price. O be content
Thyself but this to know —
Whatever soul is spent
Straining towards Truth and Beauty among men
Drinks of God's rarest wine.