Life is But an Empty Dream
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream
For the soul is dead that slumbers
And things are not what they seem.
All the 6th graders in the room were nervously waiting for their turn. Those lines kept on running in my head repeatedly and my stomach was rumbling as I anxiously anticipated my class number to be called to get over the nervousness.
"G-5!"
That was my class number. The poem is one of my favorite poems (not that I like a lot of poems) and it does make a lot of sense right now than it was when I was 12. When I recited the poem in class then, I was able to go through it without forgetting a line. But then the teacher complained that I didn’t recite the poem with enough feelings. (Or any feelings at all? I can’t remember hehe:) Maybe now I can do it better 
So why am I suddenly reminded of this poem? Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing a lot of thinking - soul-searching - asking myself questions such as "Should i have ice cream or chocolate cake for dessert?"
Here’s the entire poem.
A Psalm Of Life
Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solenm main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
September 24th, 2006 at 9:22 am
I’ve always liked this poem… plus, it brings back memories of our past principal.