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Title: Collected poems of Clarence Edwin Flynn
        First Edition, 1929 and earlier

Author: Clarence Edwin Flynn

Release date: June 17, 2025 [eBook #76332]

Language: English

Original publication: Chicago: Disciples Publication Society, 1922

Credits: Todd E. May


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLLECTED POEMS OF CLARENCE EDWIN FLYNN ***





Transcriber’s Note: Poems are ordered by publication year (goal is the
earliest available at least with legible text), then alphabetically
intrayear (ignoring “A”, “An”, and “The”). Poems appear as printed in
source unless changes are given in the notes. Investigation of spelling
involved Google’s Ngram Viewer (//books.google.com/ngrams/). Title case
is used for all poem titles for consistent appearance. Where Mr. Flynn
reused a title, the version is indicated by the year in the title (e.g.
title v1921). Alternative text was created for illustrations. Appendix 1
was created for this book and is ordered alphabetically by poem title.
Appendix 2 also was created for this book. Appendix 3 provides a way to
make this collection more complete. Additional new material, and the
compilation, are granted to the public domain. This plain text version
of the book uses underscores (_) to denote the start and end of
italicized text. However, when an entire poem is italicized, a bracketed
note is used instead in order to retain the poem’s structure.




COLLECTED POEMS OF CLARENCE EDWIN FLYNN

First Edition, 1929 and Earlier




ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PREFACE
POEMS
APPENDIX 1: BYLINES, BIBLIOGRAPHY, NOTES
APPENDIX 2: INDEX
APPENDIX 3: INACCESSIBLE POEMS




ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


I would like to thank several librarians. Geoffrey Ross (History,
Philosophy, and Newspaper Library at the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign) scanned the necessary documents allowing “The Measure
of Life” to appear in this first edition. Terese DeSimio (Greene County
[OH] Public Library) saved resources in the intercity transfer of an
extract about Clarence Edward Flynn. Lauren Day (University of Michigan
Library) verified the bottom of the physical publication containing
“The Age of a Heart” had been cut off. She then advised HathiTrust to
seek a source with a complete scan of the publication.




PREFACE


What follows is a brief introduction to Mr. Flynn, his authorship of
poems, and how this book came about. From my research on his life,
which I made available at //prabook.com/web/clarence.flynn/1084802,
Clarence Edwin Flynn (1886–1970) was an American Methodist Episcopal
clergyman, writer, hymnist and lecturer. He’s described as a “writer of
stories, articles and verse appearing in periodicals and anthologies”
and is “represented in anthologies of verse. General character writing,
religious, educational.” [1] [2] His poetry alone appeared in more than
300 different domestic and international publications.

Despite variation in bylines over his career, I believe all poems in
this collection belong to Clarence Edwin Flynn. Specifically, the
variation in middle name/initial in this first edition amounts to
E (186), Edwin (4), none (3), and F (1). To put those numbers in a
wider context, the variation associated with poetry published in 1930
and later shows the following preliminary results: Edwin (415), E (98),
Edward (15), none (3), and conflicts within the same publication (2).
“Edward” appears in bylines between 1931–1954. There was an educator
named Clarence Edward Flynn (1890–1956), but one description of his
authorship published a year before his death is very specific and does
not mention verse: “A County Plan of Work for Elementary Schools; A
Workbook for Elementary and High Schools.” [3] It may be that bylines
with “Edward” are due to error and name interchangeability (see
www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Ireland_Naming_Customs). The benefit of
any doubt about Clarence Edward Flynn’s authorship of verse should be
given to well-established poet Clarence Edwin Flynn. This brief
analysis is limited by A) the absence of Clarence Edwin Flynn’s
personal papers (their status is unknown to me) and B) only rare
inclusions of his blurb in publications to which he contributed.

How did this book come about? The gateway was an anthology of short
stories and poetry that was partially lacking in primary sources. I
applied my penchant for research in finding them. The search for a
primary source for one particular anonymous poem initially turned up
more secondary sources without a named author. I stuck with the search,
and it transformed into a rabbit hole. I eventually came across a
primary source attributing the poem to Clarence Flynn--my introduction
to his name. As I continued to look for the oldest primary source
available for that poem, I discovered more of his poetry and became a
fan. After finding his inclusion in prominent sources like those in the
first two footnotes to this preface, the questions came. Why haven’t I
heard of this person? Why doesn’t he have a Wikipedia page? [As
previously mentioned, I went with prabook.com instead.] Why hasn’t his
poetry been collected? And so here, emerging from the rabbit hole, is
the inaugural collection. This first edition is limited to poetry
published in 1929 or earlier in accordance with a copyright rule
governing works first published before 95 years ago. But with more than
700 additional poems waiting in the wings, future editions are planned
as increments of these poems enter the public domain on an annual basis.

  [1] _Who’s Who in America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Living Men and Women_. Vol. 24, 1946–1947, Two Years. Chicago:
The A. N. Marquis Co., 1946. p. 780
  [2] Lawrence, Alberta, ed. _Who’s Who Among North American Authors_.
Vol. 5, 1931–1932. Los Angeles: Golden Syndicate Publishing Co., 1931.
p. 1089
  [3] _Who’s Who in the East_. Vol. 5. Chicago: The A. N. Marquis Co.,
1955. p. 268




POEMS


 Si Gidders (1902)

 There’s an old man named Si Gidders lives on Uncle Henry’s place,
   Jest a common farmer feller, that is all;
 Tall, an’ lean, an’ lank in figger, with an awful homely face,
   But as much as you could estimate of gall.
 Gidders has one wretched failin’, that of wonderin’ at things,
   An’ it takes most all his time to humor that,
 For it’s wonder, wonder, wonder till yer ear jest fairly rings,
   With the how, an’ who, an’ which, an’ where, an’ what.

 He will wonder why the sun don’t shine by night as well as day,
   An’ why all the leaves ain’t red instid o’ green;
 Why them brindled kind o’ chickens air the ones that allers lay,
   An’ why Johnny Smith ain’t fat instid o’ lean.
 He will wonder why the sky is blue an’ why it isn’t brown,
   An’ why twelve o’clock don’t come at early morn;
 He will wonder why things don’t fall up instid o’ fallin’ down,
   An’ why Seckel pears don’t grow on stalks of corn.

 He will wonder why Jim Perry’s hair ain’t black instid o’ red,
   An’ why summer don’t start in at Christmas time;
 Why it is that folks can’t never go to heaven till they’re dead,
   An’ why three times three ain’t ten instid o’ nine;
 Why don’t daisies bloom in winter, an’ why don’t we have no snow
   When the temperature’s a hundred in the shade;
 Why don’t tomcats never whistle, en why does a rooster crow
   When his mate has just informed him that she’s laid.

 So Si Gidders’ tongue is runnin’ an’ each new thing he may see
   Allers sets a wonder workin’ in his head,
 He will wonder what it is an’ how it ever came to be,
   An’ why it ain’t painted black instid o’ red.
 An’ I ’spect that when he dies an’ comes to heaven’s pearly gates
   That he won’t find time to step inside at all,
 For he’ll want to stop an’ wonder why they hain’t all made of tin,
   An’ nailed up with old shoeleather to the wall.




 Hagar’s Song (1906)

 Thou God of mercy, Thou who art
   To Abraham a sword and shield,
   Must I myself, an infant, yield
 Unto the desert’s burning heart?

 Have I been so undutiful
   That this death be my recompense,
   That Ishmael in his innocence
 Should die so young and beautiful?

 Is he so worthless in Thy sight,
   Is all that he might do and be
   So insignificant to Thee
 Who lovest justice, truth, and right?

 But though I crave Thy tenderness,
   No longer will I plead with Thee
   Whate’er Thy will so let it be.
 For even death can bring but rest.

 So not unto the burning sands
   Do I commend my dearest joy,
   My innocent, my precious boy,
 But into Thy most gracious hands.

 But I am like a wreck at sea;
   My throat is parched, my heart is sore;
   I sigh for rest, not that of yore.
 Do to me, Lord, as pleaseth Thee.




 The Cry of a Human (1906)

 When the cares of life are heavy and the world looks dark to me,
   When board is high and funds are running low,
 I can look back at the faces that I used to love to see--
 The faces of the balmy long ago.
 I can wander back along the brooks I loved when but a boy,
   When I didn’t have to mend my shirts and sew
 The buttons on I busted off, ah! those were days of Joy,
   When I lived, a careless laddie, in the happy long ago.

 Somehow, when my dinner’s heavy, then my heart gets heavy, too.
   And I long to see the cooky jar again.
 It isn’t any wonder that the world looks black and blue,
   When you owe at least a half dozen men.
 I am longing for the good old days when I could live care free,
   And when I was hungry I could just tiptoe
 Into the dark old pantry, and eat all that I could see,
   And only get my britches fanned in the happy long ago.

 Give me back the nice hot biscuit, give me back the fresh clean clothes,
   Give me back the swimmin’ hole and all its joys,
 Give me back the tenderness that a mother only knows
   Makes the very life and soul of sturdy boys.
 Give me back the apple-butter, and I’ll stir it till I die.
   Give me back the places that I used to know.
 Give me back the fresh fried sausage and the yellow pumpkin pie
   That I used to do the chores for in the happy long ago.

 The joy of being grown up has lost all its charm for me,
   Since my clothes are growing threadbare down the seams,
 And my Sunday hat needs darning, and my necktie seems to be
   Drawing near the murmur of Elysian streams.
 I am longing for the good old days, when life was new to me,
   And the parties where I used to love to go,
 The old-time apple cuttin’ and the jolly huskin’ bee,
   Where I used to swing the lassies in the happy long ago.




 Child’s Prayer (1907)

 Now I lay me down to sleep
   ’Mid the twilight’s gentle gloom,
 Soothing me to slumbers deep
   In my angel-guarded room,
      While the stars look tenderly
      Down upon the world and me.

 I pray the Lord my soul to keep
   While the shadows hover near.
 O, may angel pinions sweep
   Where an evil would appear,
      Angel footsteps softly press
      ’Round my bed in watchfulness.

 If I should die before I wake,
   And lightly leave my snowy bed,
 And wander out, my way to take
   Unto the side of Him who said
      Beside the lake of Galilee:
      “Forbid them not to come to me.”

 I pray the Lord my soul to take
   To walk with him ‘neath clearer skies
 Where only joyful souls awake,
   Where grander, sweeter songs arise,
      Through all the years to come, the same
      I humbly pray in Jesus’ name.




 My Father’s House (1908)

 Some times I see in quiet, thoughtful hours
   Adown the winding journey of the years,
 Beyond a valley full of faded flowers
   Whose petals still are wet with human tears,

 An open door that looms beside the way,
   And many weary pilgrims entering where
 A glad face waits to welcome them alway,
   And then I know my Father’s house is there.

 I care not whether it be built of gold,
   With pearly gates and shining sapphire walls,
 Or whether it be humble, low, and old,
   With footworn thresholds and with homely halls.

 I only ask that when my feet have pressed
   The journey through, and I have come alone
 Unto my Father’s house, that I may rest
   Among the loved and lost, and feel at home.




 Hope (1909)

 When every flower has shed its bloom
   Afar upon life’s changing ground,
 And in the chilling autumn gloom
   Their leaves are drifted all around.
     One blossom still will lift its eyes
     Unto the changeless summer skies.

 When life’s poor lyre has ceased to play,
   When faith and love no longer sing,
 Still through the shades of closing day
   Will tremble one unbroken string
     To make life’s music still ascend
     In harmony unto the end.

 Oh, flower of hope with deathless hue,
   Oh, song of hope, unsilenced still,
 Beyond the vast, eternal blue
   Ye shine and echo on until
     The journey’s ended and the way
     Leads into God’s eternal day.




 The King (1909)

              When the King came
 He was so like His own, they knew Him not;
 And cast in ways of poverty His lot.
 There was no blazoned heraldry of fame
              When the King came.

              When the King died
 Not many wept. The memory of His years
 Did not bring many blossoms dewed with tears
 Unto the new tomb in the mountainside,
              When the King died.

              When the King rose
 ’Twas not to go to some far distant land,
 Nor yet to dwell within a palace grand,
 ’Twas to the palace of the hearts of men
              He rose again.




 Battle Hymn (1914)

 The world has seen from age to age
   Two marshaled hosts upon the plain
 Each other in a war engage,
   And strew the years with heroes slain;
     And though they seem at times to fail,
     The hosts of God shall still prevail.

 Between the hosts of right and wrong
   The conflict long has raged afield.
 It still must rage, however long,
   Till one shall see the other yield.
     But, though a countless horde assail,
     The hosts of God shall still prevail.

 The days of blood are in the past,
   And gone the conflict of the sword.
 Unseen the lines of war are cast
   Against the armies of the Lord.
     But, though their words be fiery hail,
     The hosts of God shall still prevail.

 By night and day the conflict goes,
   Unheard, unseen, but great and real;
 And back and forth God’s friends and foes
   Contend for this world’s woe or weal.
     Fear not their weapons nor their mail,
     For we shall see God’s hosts prevail.

 Hearts, lose not courage. Brains, take fire,
   And grow not listless in the fight.
 The arms of God shall never tire,
   And nothing can withstand His might.
     What though at times our banners trail
     In dust, our God shall still prevail.

 The world shall know the ways of God.
   The nations all shall walk in peace.
 Wherever human foot has trod,
   The sway of selfishness shall cease.
     No more shall horse and rider pale
     Go forth, when God’s hosts shall prevail.

 Beneath serene and peaceful skies,
   And from an earth without a stain,
 Redemption’s anthem shall arise
   Throughout the years, for God shall reign.
     His cause shall not forever fail,
     For, soon or late, He shall prevail.




 Song of the Dove (1914)

 O DOVE, whom do you woo
 With your soft and gentle coo
 In the freshness of the morning ’mid the sunlight and the dew?
 When the first Spring flow’rs are fair
 And your voice floats everywhere
 On the bosom of the palpitating air?

 O dove, how glad the note
 That echoes from your throat
 When the lazy clouds like castles of the sunny islands float
 In the azure Summer sky,
 Ah, let your joy run high,
 For the dreary Winter’s coming by and by.

 O dove, how sad the tone
 As you sit and grieve alone
 In the gathering of the twilight, in your sad, sweet monotone,
 With the Autumn hillsides gray
 Stretching far--so far away,
 But the joys of Spring and Summer gone for aye.




 The Gateway of the Kingdom (1915)

 THE gateway of the Kingdom
   It bendeth very low,
 Within the reach of every place
   Where common people go.
 ’Tis grand, but grandly simple.
   ’Tis great, yet very small,
 Though wide enough that ever
   There’s passage-way for all.

 The gateway of the Kingdom
   Is not of common gold.
 Its pearl is far more precious
   Than earthly realm can hold.
 It has no rusty hinges.
   No marble steps are piled.
 The gateway of the Kingdom
   Is the spirit of a child.




 Magi and Shepherd (1915)

 There’s a Babe within the manger. Humble men are on the hills.
 Where the sheep are safely folded, there the silver moonlight spills.
 There’s a rift across the heavens. There’s a light along the sky.
 There’s a glory in the valley. There’s an angel song on high.
 There’s a Babe within the manger. On the hills are humble men.
 “Peace on earth,” rings forth the chorus, and their hearts respond, “Amen!”

 There’s a Babe within the manger. There’s a star that shines above.
 ’Tis a star of age-long promise. ’Tis the morning star of love.
 There are wise men. They are kneeling. They have brought their tribute there--
 Gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Behold the majesty they wear.
 There are wise men. They are kneeling. Wisdom comes upon its knees.
 In its simple recognition of the birth and reign of peace.

 Humble men are on the hillsides, men of wisdom in the stall
 Where the new-born King of Glory deigns to find His earthly all.
 High and low have met together. There before a common shrine
 Rich and poor, unlearned and lettered, each has found the King Divine.
 Christ is Lord of humble peasant. He is Lord of royal son.
 At His feet all men are equal. In His way all men are one.




 The Open Tomb (1915)

           A thousand gates
 Lead to the grave; and through the weary years
 The race of men, through bitter, blinding tears,
 Have seen the forms they loved most enter there
           Where ever waits
 An open road on which all feet must fare.

           One only gate
 Leads from the grave; one portal outward swings.
 ’Tis one alike for peasants and for kings.
 Beside it lies a stone that’s rolled away;
           And, soon or late,
 God’s people shall fare forth into the day.

           O, Mighty One,
 We praise thee that when we have finished all
 The day’s full hours will hold, and night shall fall
 That we may see, although we die upon
           A bed of stone,
 One door that opens outward on the dawn.




 A Price Unpaid (1915)

 Upon one battlefield is writ in blood
   The story of more woe than all the years
 Can wash away, e’en with the cleansing flood
   Of centuries of peace. Blind, sickening tears
 Are caused to flow that never mailed hand
   Will seek to dry. There glassy grows the eye
 Of him who looked with joy upon the land,
   Rich now with death’s ripe harvest. One weak sigh,
 Then fades the sky, the fields, and all--and then
   The awful silence which alone will say
 To those at home, he died, but how or when
   Remains a secret of the bloody day.
 What logic is there that can justify
   The wasting harvest field, the empty home,
 The blank despair that comes at last to lie
   On faces left to fare their way alone,
 Widowed and orphaned--and for naught but this--
   To keep a royal throne from tottering down,
 To hold a mile of boundary where it is,
   To save a scepter, or preserve a crown?




 Two Princes (1915)

 The War Lord dwells within his palace walls
   In all the bright insignia of power;
 He gives the word by which a city falls,
   Or ships go thundering through Death’s awful hour.
     The Prince of Peace knew not an earthly throne,
     Had not one resting place to call his own.

 The War Lord in the pomp of place doth ride
   Across the borders of the blood-drenched land.
 On splendid charger, strong and fiery-eyed
   In every place he keeps a presence grand.
     The Prince of Peace knew but a humble seat
     And walked the earth with weary, dusty feet.

 The War Lord hears the plaudits of the crowd.
   Unnumbered men would perish for his name.
 To keep his royal robes they wear a shroud,
   And bleed to save him from an hour of shame.
     The Prince of Peace with thorns upon his head,
     Unfriended, through the hard-eyed crowd was led.

 The while the War Lord speaks the myriad waits,
   And at his word it cannot choose but die.
 His armored hand is laid upon the gates
   Of life and death. What matter reasons why?
     In one dark hour of loving agony
     The Prince of Peace expired upon a tree.




 The Voices of God (1915)

 A THOUSAND voices speak of God.
 The gayest flower, the meanest clod,
 The highest hill, the deepest sea
 Proclaim his messages to me.
 I read his story in the Book.
 I hear it in the babbling brook;
 ’Tis written all across the sky,
 And in the silent majesty
 Of mountains, lifting from the land.
 A note of his undying word
 Is in the song of every bird,
 And but to-day my Saviour smiled
 From out the features of a child.




 The Wealth of Cheer (1915)

 What’s the use of weeping
   When the day goes wrong?
 Better to be keeping
   Pace with mirth and song.
 December is December,
   But May is always May,
 And shine and shade, remember,
   Will each come in its day.

 Gloom’s an old, old story,
   As ancient as the earth.
 And men with heads now hoary
   Have measured out its worth.
 They speak with one opinion
   That, not in gloom and mists,
 But in sunshine’s dominion
   The wealth of men consists.




 True Values (1916)

 One day an angel came and asked a king,
   Sated with power, with love of pomp and gold,
 Four things that God must dearly love, to bring
   And set them in his presence, so ’tis told.
 The king went forth and came again ere night,
   And set before the angel in that hour
 A jewelled crown, a scepter gleaming bright,
   A battle weapon, and a throne of power.

 The angel’s face grew shaded as he gazed
   Upon the king’s poor playthings gathered there.
 At last again his countenance was raised.
   He said: “These are the trappings pride may wear,
 But God’s great kingdom knows a richer worth:
   A truer value is its high concern.”
 “Go”, pled the king, “and from the mighty earth
   Bring me those things. I wait for thy return.”

 “Nay, come with me”, the angel said, “and I,
   Though I may lead a long and weary way,
 Will show you what is best beneath the sky.”
   These are the things he showed the king that day:
 A kindly life that served unselfishly,
   A flower that grew in sweetness undefiled,
 A fireside where were love and purity,
   The unspoiled spirit of a little child.




 Pictures (1918)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 The days are pictures, and they pass
 As comes and goes some mirage sheen,
 As fireflies in the tangled grass,
 Or shadows thrown upon the screen.

 Pictures they are of love and care;
 Pictures of toil and happiness;
 Of mighty men, of ladies fair--
 Incarnate strength and gentleness;

 Pictures of battle and the night
 That touches woe with cooling breath;
 Of calm years following the fight,
 When blossoms deck the fields of death;

 Pictures of paths that wind, and meet
 Where Fate’s decrees have willed it so,
 Or where erstwhile companion feet
 Are led in separate ways to go.

 The days are pictures, and they run
 Their hastening course of smiles and tears.
 As shadows flit ’twixt sun and sun,
 So pass the ever-dying years.




 When the Curtain Falls (1918)

 When the end is reached, and the curtain falls,
 And the echoes die from the voiceless walls,
 This is the thing that alone will tell:
 The actor’s part--has he played it well?

 A few swift scenes and the course is run;
 A few brief facts and the play is done.
 May it be well when the far voice calls,
 And the lights go out, and the curtain falls.




 The World’s Drama (1918)

 The world’s a screen. Across it flit the shadows
   Of all the multitudes that come and go.
 They move in dusty lanes, o’er sunny meadows,
   And where the hand of toil moves to and fro.

 There is the mourner and the long procession;
   There is the maid with joy of which to sing;
 There is the warrior, with his blood-possession;
   There is the shade of some forgotten king.

 Soon is each gone. Soon yonder in the distance
   Each comes amid the mists to disappear,
 Where dying light falls on his face or glistens
   For one brief moment on his helm or spear.

 Yet as each goes another is approaching.
   A multitude is shadowed on ahead;
 So moves the line, forevermore encroaching
   Upon the borders of the silent dead.

 Thus goes the drama, each his fond part playing,
   For what he plays to him is all in all--
 Striving, pursuing, loving, toiling, praying,
   Until the darkness overshadows all.




 Jim (1919)

 A chicken-hearted boy was Jim,
   A lad with a gentle face and eye.
 The boys all joined in a laugh at him
   Whenever he chanced to be passing by.
 He wouldn’t set foot on a helpless thing.
   For a crawling worm he’d turn aside.
 He was always making a splint or sling
   For some wounded creature that else had died.

 Well, Jim grew up, and the war came on.
   Justice and right in the dust lay low.
 One day they noticed that Jim was gone,
   And wondered if he could face the foe.
 It was said that no braver soldier fought
   In all the marshaled ranks than Jim;
 From many battles he finally brought
   The name of a hero home with him.

 We looked to see a steely eye
   And a hardened face from his soldier ways,
 But the same old lad came marching by
   With the gentle eyes of his boyhood days.
 He had heard the voices of battle ring;
   He had faced the peril from death’s grim shore;
 But to-day he treads on no helpless thing,
   Though they call him chicken-heart no more.

[Two illustrations cover the time span of the poem. The first
illustration’s foreground has a boy facing the viewer, walking along a
neighborhood street, and approaching a small, sitting dog whose back
faces the viewer. The street bends right and into the background past
homes and a few neighbors looking in the boy’s direction. A church
steeple is prominent above the homes and trees. The second illustration
has the same viewpoint of the neighborhood. People line the side of the
street, their backs to the viewer, as a troop formation carrying an
American flag parades towards the viewer.]




 Let Us Be Right (1919)

 Let us be right, though all the world may follow
   The broken fabric of some failing dream.
 As sounds upon our ears its outcry hollow,
   And men lose all for some deceiving scheme,
 Let us forsake the gold and tinsel masking,
   And live for things enduring and secure.
 Whate’er the prize the idle crowd is asking,
   Let us be right. The path of truth is sure.

 Let us be right, whatever seem our losing,
   Some day the tide will turn, and men will know
 The thing abiding. Then the common choosing
   Will be the substance, not the empty show.
 Let us be right. When self’s poor plans are shattered
   And all the castles lifted mountain high
 By evil hand, are broken down and shattered,
   The right shall stand beneath the mighty sky.




 Light and Shadow (1919)

 A BIT of sunshine and a bit of shadow,
 And each succeeds the other on the screen.
 They chase each other over hill and meadow,
 Alternate triumph through each act and scene.
 The smile and tear has each in turn its season,
 The right and wrong their coronation day,
 And foolishness contends for place with reason
 --such is a play.

 A bit of gladness and a bit of sighing,
 A warm sun’s beaming and the cloudland’s chill
 Each comes and goes the while the day is dying
 From western hill to farther western hill.
 So runs the tale as passing years grow hoary;
 So will it be forever and for aye.
 A bit of sorrow and a touch of glory
 --such is a day.




 The New Day (1919)

 Put up your guns, ye nations, and lay your swords away.
 Forget the roar of battle ye heard but yesterday.
 Forget the vanished era of autocrats and kings
 And turn to face a future of better, finer things.

 We strung our rows of crosses on Flanders’ flow’ry plains.
 We touched the fields of Europe with our hearts’ reddest stains.
 We walked the shadowed valley: we felt its deadly chill.
 Some lingered on its bosom with voice forever still.

 Among the wreck of empires, the dreams of yesterday.
 Built on self’s foundations (the dreamers: where are they?).
 We face a dawning future upon a shattered earth.
 ’Twill be as we shall make it--a thing of threat or worth.

 O ye returning manhood, baptized in battle flame,
 Ye who have fought for honor and saved the world from shame,
 Ye who have stood for justice beyond the mighty seas,
 Come to the task awaiting on battlefields of peace.

 Put up your guns, ye nations, and lay your swords away.
 ’Twas yours to live beholding the world’s redemption day.
 Let now the earth, forgetting its reign of strife and blood,
 Welcome the dawning era--the day of brotherhood.

[Poem is on cover page with the following additional text: The Sunday
School Journal, March 1919, Volume Fifty-One, Number Three. The poem
overlays an illustration of the Statue of Liberty.]




 The New Year (1919)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 Each New Year day Time cuts the thread
 That binds us to the vanished past.
 Its tears, and cares, and pangs are fled.
 Its woes are gone, its troubles dead,
 And we are free at last.

 It is the road ahead we scan
 Whene’er the year is new.
 Again we gird our hearts, and plan
 For better days. We hope again
 In things secure and true.

 Thanks for the hand that steals away
 The cares of moments sped.
 Thanks for the years we leave today,
 But more for all that seems to say:
 “’Tis better on ahead.”




 God’s Garden (1920)

 There blooms a lovely garden
   Beneath the smile of God,
 Where fairest flow’rs are nodding
   Above the smoothest sod.
 From it has come the harvest
   Of everlasting worth,
 Enriching yonder heaven,
   As well as hither earth.

 Kind friendships are the breezes
   That come with soothing breath;
 Love is the life stream, springing
   Where else had been but death;
 A teacher is its gard’ner;
   Its sunlight is the truth;
 And in its soil doth blossom
   The flower of lovely youth.

[Poem is framed by illustrated flowers. Outside the frame--from
middle-left to middle-top--is an illustration of two young, smiling
girls standing in the midst of flowers. The older girl is cradling
several picked flowers in one arm while her other are is extended and
selecting another.]




 The Open Soul (1920)

                  There is a way
 That leads to some rich joy in every day,
 To where through immemorial ages gone
 Calm Peace has sat upon her regal throne.
 There is a road to joy’s supremest goal,
                  But pilgrims say
 It is discerned but by the open soul.

                  There is a song
 That has the power to scatter courage strong
 Through all the moments of the busy day,
 And blunt the thorns along the weary way.
 Its music always lessens sorrow’s toll,
                  Though suffered long.
 It is no secret to the open soul.

                  There is a gleam
 That lights with loveliness the hill and stream,
 Blesses the days with hours supremely rare,
 And threads a line of gladness through each care.
 Before it all the shadows swiftly roll
                  From fettered beam.
 It breaks like morning on the open soul.




 The Outcome (1920)

 Life’s always at its best upon the screen.
   It is not perfect. Life is never so.
 There runs a struggle thru each shifting scene,
   And shadows often come, their pall to throw
 Across the landscape. Things go wrong a while.
   But always comes at last the shine’s glow,
 And gloom is followed by the song and smile.

 In every drama wrong must have its reign,
   In every tale the villain has his day;
 Gladness we see, contrasting it with pain,
   And truth is valued but by error’s sway.
 The right and wrong are alternate in power,
   The scene is now in sun, now shadow cast,
 But tho the wrong may triumph for an hour,
   The right is seated on the throne at last.




 The Silent Drama (1920)

 Out of the silence often comes
   A voice that breaks the stillness deep,
 And with an eloquence unheard
   Calls hidden mem’ries from their sleep.
 It carries power unknown to speech;
   It speaks directly to the heart,
 Grown thoughtful in the silences.
   Such is the screen’s appealing art.

 It calls the strong to lost resolve.
   It thrills the weak to better things,
 It touches sleeping hopes to life
   And in the songless heart it sings.
 It opens scenes of loveliness
   For eyes long used to barren spot,
 This sacred silence that is heard
   Where thought is all and voice is not.




 A Trouble Making World (1920)

 There’s a word that keeps us from the best of things,
 Making some men peasants, making others kings,
 Making all to sorrow, forcing some to die,
 For uncounted sorrows the one reason why.

 There’s a word begetting bitterness and strife,
 Evermore beclouding all the sky of life,
 Driving men to battle when they ought to be
 Linked in soul together by fraternity.

 There’s a word that enters in the holy place,
 Writes its tale of trouble on the fairest face;
 Makes of life a struggle, fraught with grasping greed,
 When its years were given for high thought and deed.

 There’s a word that robs us of the happy song;
 Makes the earth a treadmill, elevates the strong;
 Drives the weak from justice; grinds the poor and worn;
 Fills the years with hatred; seeds the world with scorn.

 There’s a word absorbing manhood’s fruitful hour,
 Careless of life’s meaning, prodigal of power,
 Making regal spirits satisfied with pelf,
 It is short but powerful, and its name is self.




 The Builders (1921)

 Each stone that goes into the wall
   And lifts it higher from the clay
 Is but a life that heeds the call
   To serve its God from day to day.
 No hammers on their anvils beat,
   Yet in some wondrous time to be
 The finished work will stand complete--
   The temple of humanity.

 The patient builders--who are they,
   Whose hands have toiled and oft alone,
 Through many a hard, discouraged day
   To set e’er night another stone?
 They are the teachers who have brought
   The word of righteousness and truth,
 The great ideal, the noble thought,
   And dropped them in the heart of youth.

[Poem is on cover page with the following additional text: The Sunday
School Journal, August 1921. Cover has an illustration of a path, lined
by bushes and trees, leading to a large church. The view of the church
is partially obscured by the trees, but its steeple rises above them.
The sky is dominated by tall, white, billowing clouds.]




 The Children v1921

 WHEN two gray-haired old parents meet
 In quiet home or busy street,
 The talk will run in formal style
 On formal things a little while.
 Then, following a silent spell:
 “The children, are they doing well?”

 Then faded eyes grow quickly bright.
 Worn features take a sudden light,
 As they recount with pride and joy
 The story of each girl and boy.
 How these old parents love to tell
 That every child is doing well!

 The great All-Father up above,
 I often think, in words of love
 Recounts each vict’ry and success,
 Joys in His children’s happiness.
 I think He, too, delights to tell
 That all His own are doing well.




 Climaxes v1921

 One climax comes in every play,
   And only one;
 And after it has had its day
   The struggle’s won.
 Untangled is each vagrant thread;
 Sad hearts to happiness are led;
 And, with the days all fair ahead,
   The play is done.

 One climax comes in every life,
   And only one--
 The apex of our human strife,
   The race we run.
 Then woes are banished; tears are dried;
 Our answered questions put aside;
 Life’s dearest hope is satisfied;
   Then life is done.




 Home v1921
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 The joy that some hearts treasure, the hope that others prize;
 The wistful wish that, buried deep, sometimes in others lies;
 A word so dear that men will die with gladness for its sake;
 The forge at which are welded strong the ties that naught can break;

 A garden in the wildest waste of this world’s desert life;
 A spot where dwell both peace and calm amid the fiercest strife;
 A refuge from each storm that beats; the place in all the land
 Where there are souls who sympathize and hearts that understand;

 The rock whereon the anchors hold that keep us safe and fast
 When else would perish all we are and have amid the blast;
 The shrine before whose holy light does fondest worship come;
 The choicest ideal of the heart--its sacred name is HOME.




 The Magic Gateway (1921)

 I turned the cover of a book,
   And found it was a gate
 Into a field where one might look,
   Unwearied, soon and late.
 The dreams of every land and sea
   Were all about me there.
 Kind spirits came and talked with me,
   And flowers bloomed everywhere.

 I saw the years that long had sped,
   The wondrous scenes of yore.
 The mighty past gave up its dead,
   They lived and spoke once more.
 The greatest minds that ever thought,
   And hearts that ever beat,
 Came, and their richest treasures brought
   To lay them at my feet.




 Shadows v1921

 We are moving shadows cast
   On the world’s great picture screen;
 Shadows in a drama vast,
   Filled with varied act and scene.

 Shadows flitting in the sun
   Like the bees among the flowers;
 Shadows hast’ning one by one
   Down the course of passing hours.

 Shadows in the sunny space;
   Shadows on the tangled grass;
 Shadows on the river’s face;
   Shadows in the winds that pass.

 Shadows playing in the lane;
   Shadows fighting battles brave;
 Shadows walking ways of pain;
   Shadows falling in the grave.

 Shadows moving in the grove,
   Falling on the summer lawn.
 On and off the screen they move,
   But the play goes ever on.




 The Sunbeam and the Shadow (1921)

 The sunbeam and the shadow
   Are met upon the screen.
 Each mingles in the making
   Of yonder lovely scene.
 If all were only shadow,
   A leaden cloud would pall.
 If it were only sunshine,
   ’Twould be no scene at all.

 In life are intermingled
   The sunshine and the rain.
 In each day strangely blended
   Are happiness and pain.
 Where’er is told life’s story,
   However grave or fair,
 The sunshine and the shadow
   Succeed each other there.




 The Teacher v1921

 WHO shapes a mind doth shape the years
 That are to be, the joys and tears
 Of those unborn. He lays his hand
 Upon the future of the land
 And turns by thought’s resistless force
 The stream of hist’ry in its course.

 Who shapes a life, its hopes, its worth,
 Doth shape the future of the earth.
 His is a sculptor hand, to mold
 The periods as they unfold.
 His hand is laid upon the rod
 That speeds the purposes of God.




 After-Images (1922)

 The lights go low, the organ swells,
   And pours its rhythm everywhere--
 Now thunder, now the ring of bells,
   Sounding at twilight o’er the dells,
 Now but a whisper in the air.
   The whisper and the thunder loud
 Are both reflected on the crowd.

 The pictures come, and pass away,
   As morn departs or evening stills.
 Ambition fights its fevered fray.
   The wrong and right have each their day.
 Love walks with love upon the hills
   Life’s long procession there appears.
 And hurries onward thru the years.

 The music dies. The crowds depart.
   Each goes his way, pursues his aim;
 But something in the thing of art
   Has left a mark upon his heart.
 Somehow the world is not the same.
   The music and the scenes so fair
 Have left their after-imagine there.




 Almost (1922)

 The fish we almost captured,
   The race we almost won,
 The task we almost finished
   Before the day was done.
 The plan almost accomplished,
   The dream almost come true--
 These bring but little comfort
   Or help to me and you.

 Near heroes win no laurels;
   Near victories are cheap;
 And near achievements bring us
   No crowns we care to keep.
 To come but near is failure.
   A miss is like a mile.
 The word “almost” can rob us
   Of all that is worth while.




 Along the Road (1922)

 The folks we meet along the road,
   They are a varied throng--
 A pilgrim struggling with his load;
   The singer of the song;
 A youth with bright, expectant gaze,
   His face with hope alight;
 An old man bowed with many days,
   And stumbling toward the night.

 The rich, the poor, the high, the low;
   The faithless and the true;
 The face of joy, the form of woe,
   All pass in grand review
 We meet, and see their forms no more;
   But when the eve is gray
 The sweetest thought we ponder o’er
   Is whom we’ve helped today.




 Compensation (1922)

 For everything that happens wrong
   A dozen things go right.
 For every tear a flood of song
   Rings out across the night.
 For every dark and stormy day
   A week of days are fair.
 However chill the clouds and gray,
   ’Tis always bright somewhere.

 For every heart of bitterness
   A host of hearts are light.
 For every hour of deep distress
   A whole long day is bright.
 For every faithless friend we find
   That many friends are true.
 So, after all, God’s mighty kind
   To such as me and you.




 A Creed (1922)

 I DO believe
 That, while in this old world few things are sure,
 Right, truth, and love forevermore endure;
 That these are ’mongst the things most worth our while
 --A song, a smile,
 The wiping of a tear from eyes that grieve.

 I do believe
 That in the day of famine or of feast
 That one is richest who has sought the least;
 That, spite of all earth’s woes, and tears, and pains,
 Love is, and reigns;
 And sunshine through the ages Time doth weave.

 I do believe
 God plants some seeds of gladness in each day,
 And smiles on children happy at their play;
 That living men, though paupers, churls, or slaves,
 Are more than graves
 To which the grass and mosses damply cleave.




 The Engineer (1922)

 I MUST not be a minute late,
 Nor yet too hasty be.
 I have a load of human freight
 Depending upon me.
 I know that loving eyes tonight
 Are all along the line,
 Waiting to see them each alight--
 These passengers of mine.

 When at the finish of my run
 I reach the hour of rest
 I want to think on what I’ve done,
 And know it was my best.
 Of hearts that never felt a fear
 I want to dream tonight,
 Hearts that were sure the engineer
 Would bring them through all right.

[Illustration of a head crowned with a wreath made from a plant. The
person is facing the viewer. A tree (perhaps the source for the wreath)
is shown next to the head.]




 The Flag at Sea (1922)

 Have you ever felt a craving
   On the vastness of the sea,
 To behold the silken waving
   Of the banner of the free?
 Have you searched with tired precision,
   Far from where the land unbars,
 For a passing moment’s vision
   Of the flag of stripes and stars?

 Does it thrill you to remember
   When it stood against the sky,
 How your heart was like an ember
   And a tear was in your eye?
 How the old flag thrilled your spirit,
   How it made you feel at home,
 When your ship that day sailed near it
   On the wideness of the foam?




 The Gift of the Farm (1922)

 We thank you, old farm, forever
 For the gift you have freely made
 To the world and its hard endeavor,
 Of the boys and the girls who played
 On your beautiful hills and meadows,
 Who digged in your kindly soil
 And who learned in your sun and shadows
 The lesson of honest toil.

 We thank you for hands so ready
 Their manifold tasks to do,
 For minds that are keen and steady,
 For hearts that are strong and true,
 For people of lowly station,
 For those who have won renown,
 For the best who have served the nation
 In the country and the town.




 The Gifts of the Church (1922)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 The dearest friends that life has known
 In any time or place
 Were made before the wondrous throne
 Of mercy and of grace.
 The bonds of brotherhood were wrought
 In high communion there
 Where we have walked with God in thought,
 And bowed in common prayer.

 The sweetest mem’ries of the years,
 The joys most keen and true,
 The kindest words that blessed our ears
 The sanctuary knew.
 The highest peaks our hearts have scaled,
 The fairest roads we trod,
 The hours by which all others paled
 Were in the house of God.




 God of To-Day (1922)

 OUR THANKS are thine,
 O Mighty One, that thou has safely led
 Our fathers through the grim and trying past
 And made a way for us in days now dead.
 Our gratitude before thy throne we cast,
 That hands divine
 Have kept our feet and ordered all our ways,
 God of the yesterdays.

 We thank thee, too,
 For that blest hope we treasure fond and deep--
 The hope our worn hearts lean so heavy on--
 That somewhere in time’s mighty onward sweep
 The day of God and righteousness shall dawn
 Serene and true.
 For all of this we bring our thanks to thee,
 God of the years to be.

 But most of all
 We thank thee for the golden fruitfulness
 Of fields now rich with grain or bright with flowers,
 For grace and pardon, joy and blessedness,
 And every good that even now is ours.
 And so we call
 In confidence that thou dost bless our way,
 God of this present day.




 The Heart of a Child Is a Scroll (1922)

 THE HEART of a child is a scroll,
   A page that is lovely and white;
 And to it, as fleeting years roll,
   Come hands with a story to write--
 A story of laughter and mirth,
   A story of sorrow and tears,
 Of love that encircles the earth,
   Or sin that embitters the years.

 Be ever so careful, O hand;
   Write thou with a sanctified pen.
 Thy story shall live in the land
   For years in the doings of men.
 It shall echo in circles of light,
   Or lead to the death of a soul.
 Grave here but a message of right,
   For the heart of a child is a scroll.

[Illustration of a mother looking at an infant cradled in her arms.
Backdrop is an unrolled scroll, feather pen, and inkwell. Infant’s
shadow is cast onto the blank scroll.]




 His Epitaph (1922)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 HE wasn’t rich; he wasn’t great,
   His place was lowly and obscure.
 His clothing was not up-to-date,
   His house was tumble-down and poor.
 No honor did he claim.
   He never walked with lords and kings.
 No glory has illumed his name,
   But he was kind to helpless things.

 He won no victories to boast.
   He made no conquests, waged no strife.
 He never led a conquering host;
   He lived an unpretentious life.
 But, when is writ the judgment scroll,
   And Time its final verdict brings,
 This will be said of him: his soul
   Was rich in love for helpless things.




 The Lens (1922)

 Here is a little piece of glass
 Set in a tube of shining brass.
 Through it had passed in grand review
 All that the world’s heart ever knew
 Of joy, hope, sorrow, love and fears,
 The ceaseless struggle of the years,
 The darkest schemes the evil know,
 The noblest service men can show.

 Through it the risen dead have walked,
 The spectres of the past have stalked.
 Hope realized has lingered there,
 Likewise the shape of dark despair.
 This bit of glass is seasoned well,
 For human tongue could never tell
 The half it knows of peace and strife,
 And all that makes the old world’s life.




 The Magic of the Screen (1922)

 WE look down summer lanes on winter days,
 We see the snow amid the summer’s heat.
 Far lands are brought and laid before our gaze.
 The woodland stream runs by the city street.
 The light of noonday breaks the shades of night,
 And then is softened to the starlight’s sheen.
 The dawn and twilight mingle in our sight,
 Such is the fairy magic of the screen.

 THE heavy-hearted slip away from tears
 And find the gladness of a fleeting hour
 In fairer spaces and more peaceful years,
 Where is no dearth of laughter, sun, and flower.
 Youth sees the future. Age with faded eye
 Looks back in joy on many a vanished scene,
 And walks again among the days gone by.
 Such is the fairy magic of the Screen.

[Photo of palm trees with the caption: Photography by Rice, Los
Angeles]




 The Making of Heaven (1922)

 GOD took the paths we longed in vain to go,
 And built a golden street beside a river.
 He took the gates Time closed to us below,
 And built a portal that shall stand forever.

 He took the longings that were vague and dim,
 And hedged about by human limitation;
 And built a world without a scar or rim
 To be our everlasting habitation.

 He took the bitter pangs that life has cost;
 Transformed them into joy, and song, and wonder.
 He took the treasured blessings we have lost,
 And planted them beside the waters yonder.

 He took our thoughts of hills, and woods, and streams;
 And made them real, with added beauty given.
 He took the shattered fragments of our dreams,
 And built a city fair, and called it Heaven.




 The Man Who Knows (1922)

 We owe our debt to the man who thinks,
   For he leads our minds afar
 Till they stand and tremble on the brinks
   Of the strangest things that are.
 We owe our debt to the man who hopes,
   For he keeps our courage strong.
 He speaks his cheer to the soul that gropes,
   And it wakens into song.

 And here’s to the man whose soul believes,
   In whose heart convictions burn
 Through the day of life, and who dying leaves
   Them to others in their turn.
 But the old world’s mighty tasks are planned
   And done, as it onward goes,
 By the balanced mind and the steady hand
   That belong to the man who knows.




 The Marine (1922)

 He has made a hundred harbors.
 He has sailed the seven seas.
 He has trod the Arctic ice fields.
 He has felt the tropic breeze.
 He has dwelt in peaceful cities.
 He has taken shade and sun--
 He has never hunted trouble
 Nor from trouble ever run.

 Grim and rugged are his features,
 Brown his arms and hard his hands;
 Yet his eyes are frank and winsome,
 With a boyish air he stands.
 Readiest of all our fighters,
 True his aim, and dread his gun--
 He has never hunted trouble
 Nor from trouble ever run.




 The Measure of Life (1922)

 Not what I get, but what I give
   As days go fleeting past.
 Not how I feel, but how I live
   Must tell the tale at last.
 Not what I have, but what I do,
   The loads I bear, the paths I hew
 Through forests no man ever knew,
   The highways that I cast.

 Not the advantage that I take
   But give amid the strife.
 The service for some others’ sake
   Where selfishness is rife.
 The effort that I make to bless
   My time and fellows with success,
 And brotherhood, and happiness,
   Measures this little life.




  Monuments (1922)

 Sometimes the angels go searching
 For the graves of the sons of God.
 They traverse the reaching mountains,
 The sea, and the rolling sod.
 They never on earth would find them
 By the marks we so long have known,
 For they never stop to decipher
 Our records in bronze and stone.

 They find the graves of God’s children
 By the monuments builded fair
 Through years of struggle and toiling
 By the hands that are buried there
 Or words that were fitly spoken,
 Of service devoted, true.
 We mortals may never see them,
 But God’s messengers always do.




 My Riches (1922)

 In no triumphal line I ride,
   No praise falls on my ears;
 But I’ve a flag that waves in pride,
   Above me through the years.
 A flag whose folds are dear to me,
   Whose glory I confess--
 The symbol of my liberty,
   And peace, and happiness.

 Little of riches have I known,
   Little perhaps deserve;
 But I’ve a land to call my own,
   A people I can serve.
 A country that’s as broad and fair,
   As any on the ball;
 With happy people everywhere--
   An equal chance for all.




 A Parents’ Prayer v1922

 God bless our little ones tonight,
 Our little ones--and thine.
 Protect their slumber by thy might.
 Grant them thy peace divine.
 Help us no duty to forget
 We owe to them or thee,
 And leave us nothing to regret
 In years that are to be.

 God, bless our little ones tonight,
 Our little ones--and thine.
 Help us to rear them true, and right,
 And clean, and strong, and fine.
 Lead them in ways more beautiful
 Than we have ever seen,
 And make them each more dutiful
 Than we have ever been.




 Patchwork (1922)

 A bit of cloud and a bit of blue
   Make the wide and mighty sky.
 A touch of drought with the rain and dew
   Make the seasons passing by.
 A bit of black and a bit of white
   On the canvas make the scene.
 A bit of shade and a gleam of light
   Make the drama on the screen.

 A bit of toil and a bit of rest
   Make our winding human way.
 The rosy East and the flaming West
   Make the glory of a day.
 A bit of hope and a bit of fear
   Make the heart’s eternal strife.
 A song of joy and a falling tear
   Make the daily round of life.




 A Perfect Day (1922)

 A PERFECT day is made of perfect hours,
   And perfect hours of perfect moments run.
 Of blessings realized and gathered flowers
   Between the rising and the set of sun.
 Soon they are gone. Swiftly the light that played
   On crests of gladness all has passed away.
 Dawn turns to Noon. Noon dies to Evening’s shade.
   Each at its best helps make a perfect day.

 A perfect day is in the reach of all
   Who will but fill each moment to the full
 With joy, and meaning, thought, and dream, and all
   That makes life deep, and rich, and wonderful.
 It is within the reach of all who hold
   The will to serve, and laugh, and sing, an play
 Until the sunset covers all with gold,
   And darkness falls upon a perfect day.




 Picture Books (1922)

 THEY are long gone, those pleasant hours,
   When we as girls and boys
 Turned from our play among the flowers,
   From all our painted toys,
 To turn the leaves of picture books,
   To live with lords, and kings,
 Swineherds, and chimney sweeps, and cooks,
   Soldiers, and such like things.

 How still they stood! From day to day
   No figure ever stirred.
 The armies never marched away,
   Nor ever spoke a word.
 Now soldiers march with fife and drum.
   Men move in every scene.
 The picture books of old have come
   To life upon the screen.




 Picture Writing (1922)

 Of old our fathers wrote in pictures.
   ’Twas in an age of savage men.
 The years have rolled a mighty cycle,
   And we’ve got round to it again.
 They carved their story on the mountain
   Where it for ages might be seen.
 We write ours on a filmy ribbon,
   And throw it on a silver screen.

 If they who carved on cliff and hillside
   Might but return today and see
 The picture writing of the present,
   Big with surprise their eyes would be.
 We learned their message from the pictures,
   Tho tiresome was the task and slow;
 But we shall pass along a story
   That all the world may read and know.




 A Prayer for Thanksgiving (1922)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 While we are seated at our board
 In comfort here today,
 With happy face, and kindly word,
 Let us not fail to pray
 For all who do not have their share
 Of comfort and of gain,
 For troubled people everywhere
 In hunger or in pain.

 Where weary mothers toil unfed
 In places foul and dim,
 Where little children cry for bread
 And none is given them,
 Lord, let Thy mercy have its way.
 Sow plenty in the land,
 And teach us in our joy today
 To lend a helping hand.




 A Psalm of the Movies (1922)
 _(With all due apologies.)_

 Tell me not in sturdy measure
   What it says upon the screen.
 It does damage to my pleasure,
   And the words are plainly seen.

 I am really in earnest,
   As the titles onward roll;
 And so, when to me thou turnest,
   Do not read aloud their scroll.

 Many peevish eyes remind us,
   Tho each passage be sublime,
 Folks before and folks behind us
   All can read both prose and rhyme.

 In the scene of love and battle,
   As the swift film pictures life,
 If you do not cease your prattle,
   There most surely will be strife.

 Let us watch and see what’s doing
   Till the hast’ning drama ends,
 And not work the play’s undoing,
   Reading titles to our friends.




 The Radio Neighborhood (1922)

 While we have struggled patiently
 Toward the larger good,
 Friendship on every land and sea,
 A world-wide neighborhood,
 Space set its limits everywhere,
 Its hedging curtains swirled;
 But now we speed o’er land, through air,
 And talk around the world.

 Who is our neighbor? Yesterday
 It was the man whose home
 Was down the road or o’er the way
 Where we might often come.
 Today the golden tie that binds
 Men’s souls in joy or care,
 The word uniting hearts and minds,
 Is vibrant everywhere.




 The Section Foreman (1922)

 “I LIKE to have my section here
 The cleanest on the line.
 I tell the men to keep it clear
 Of every weed and vine.
 The ties are new. The rails are bright.
 The ballast’s firm and strong.
 The road’s a shining groove of light
 The trains may slip along.”

 “And on the road we all must take,
 The journey all pursue,
 Though ’tis not marked by line or stake,
 I have a section, too.
 ’Twill be inspected some bright day
 By the Great Judge divine,
 And how I’d like to hear Him say:
 ‛The cleanest on the line’!”




 The Shadow World (1922)

 There is a world of shadows;
   We see it on the screen
 --A world of grassy meadows,
   With sunlit streams between,
 Streams flowing to the ocean.
   They come from everywhere.
 Love, hope, despair, devotion,
   Joy, sorrow--all are there.

 This world of wondrous seeming
   Is not a distant place.
 ’Tis a new way of dreaming
   To walk in it a space,
 To tread its flow’ring meadows,
   To sit beside its streams.
 It is a world of shadows,
   And yet how real it seems!




 The Stars and Stripes for Me (1922)

 I bare my head to banners
   That others know and love,
 But one I hold the fairest
   That decks the blue above.
 Whatever be their emblems,
   Wherever they may be,
 Stand, if you will, beneath them--
   But the Stars and Stripes for me.

 It stands for all I covet,
   It leads in all I seek;
 Its folds afford protection
   And succor to the weak;
 It stands for right and justice,
   And peace and liberty.
 To others you are welcome--
   But the Stars and Stripes for me.

 No flag shall wave above it
   On any purpose bent,
 Nor snatch its honor from it--
   At least with my consent.
 It speaks of proud traditions,
   High hopes for years to be.
 No other scheme or banner
   But the Stars and Stripes for me.




 The Station (1922)

 THIS is a place of endings and of startings,
 Of journeys finished, journeys just begun.
 It is a place of meetings and of partings,
 Of heart-ties welded and of struggles done.
 It is a place of laughter and of sighing,
 And both commingled in some heart that swells;
 A place of whispered questions, low replying,
 Lost in the clanging din of engine bells.

 It is a place of partings and of meetings,
 A place of hoping and a place of fear,
 A place of farewells and a place of greetings.
 The mountain crests of life are rounded here.
 Here does the world pass by in long procession.
 Here do the heart’s tides ebb, and flow, and surge.
 Earth’s best and worst are mingled in the station.
 Here do the paths of all the world converge.

[Poem title in cursive font is above an illustration surrounding the
author’s name. Left side has city skyscrapers and a dollar sign. Middle
has a train station. Right side has a simpler home in the countryside
and a heart. White, billowing clouds form a prominent background for
the city and country settings. One double-line encircles all structures
and the author’s name.]




 The Teacher v1922

 The eyes of the ages are toward him.
   The love of the race is his own.
 The heart of the world will reward him
   With a name that is more than a throne.
 The life that he lives is unending,
   For he is the servant of youth.
 Earth is lit by the flame he is tending
   --This priest at the altar of truth.

[Poem is on cover page with the following additional text: The Sunday
School Journal, August 1922. The cover has an illustration of a
historical setting. A man wearing robes and headband, sitting in a
prominent stone chair on a raised platform, is looking at an unrolled
scroll in his hands. He faces the viewer while four nearby children
dressed in chitons and sandals look at him: one stands on each side of
the chair, the third sits in front, and the fourth stands in front. The
chair and people are left of center. A large column frames the right
side. The poem is between the people and column and prominently
displayed in a housing resembling the facade of a temple. A tiger
skin--head attached with gaping mouth--is in the foreground.
Immediately behind all this is a stone wall with an engraving of a
person whose activity is obscured by the publication’s title.]




 The Temple (1922)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 When each home is a temple,
   Its every room a shrine,
 Its hearth a sacred altar
   Inscribed to things divine;
 When each eye in the circle
   Reflects that altar flame,
 Each mealtime sacramental
   Unto the Wondrous Name;

 When each morn is a prayer-time
   Each evening hour is blessed
 With all the grace of kindness
   And all the peace of rest;
 When each task is a service,
   Each word a psalm of praise,
 The world will swing in sunshine
   Through all the golden days.




 Voices of the Dawn (1922)

 Soft breaths of wind that gently pass,
   Sigh in the branches of a tree,
 And whisper in the tangled grass;
   The early droning of a bee,
 Shaking the dew from dripping wings
   Among the blossoms on the lawn;
 The sprightly chirp of waking things.
   These are the voices of the dawn.

 The falling of a loosened leaf,
   That seems loud where all is so still;
 A field-mouse rustling in a sheaf;
   The low of kine around the hill;
 A little tinkling waterfall,
   Whose bubbles gurgle and are gone;
 A skylark’s song; a robin’s call.
   These are the voices of the dawn.




 The Watchdog of the Sea (1922)

 Her silent body, slim and gray,
   Hangs grimly off the bar,
 Then, like a wraith, she slips away,
   Through mist to ports afar.
 She tells not where her course may lie,
   Nor cares what perils be,
 She goes, nor ever questions why--
   The watchdog of the sea.

 She plows alike through light and dark,
   She scents the far wind’s breath;
 Only at foemen does she bark,
   And then her bark is death.
 She keeps our coasts from every threat,
   Guards home and liberty;
 Her courage has not failed us yet--
   The watchdog of the sea.




 Where Is Heaven? (1922)

 WHO has not heaven in his soul
 May seek o’er land and main,
 From East to West, from Pole to Pole;
 But he will seek in vain.
 He may traverse the mighty sky,
 Ascend through spaces dim;
 But heaven with all its ecstacy
 Will not exist for him.

 Who carries heaven in his heart,
 Its sunshine in his breast,
 Need never seek a place apart,
 For every place is blest
 --The hill, the vale, the sea, the air,
 The stream, the forest dim.
 The light of God from portals fair
 Shines everywhere for him.




 Climaxes v1923

 We live thru drab, prosaic days
 That slowly come and go;
 We tread a thousand weary ways,
 And heavy burdens know;
 We toil in patience thru the years,
 Alike in sun and shower,
 Paying the price of blood and tears
 For one climactic hour.

 We tread the boards thru action long,
 Face conflict grim and hard,
 To gain one triumph over wrong,
 One moment of reward.
 We move upon the mighty screen
 From dawn to set of sun
 To make one little perfect scene
 Before our part is done.




 The Creator (1923)

 I looked in the face of a rose
 As it nodded in springtime and smiled.
 I saw where eternity glows
 In the sweet, tender eyes of a child.
 I looked in a sunbeam in air.
 They each bore an image divine.
 The Creator was everywhere.

 I looked at the set of the sun,
 And the crag that reflected its light.
 I thought on the day that was done,
 And I pondered the stars of the night.
 And I looked in the eyes of a man
 Who had stumbled through sinning to prayer.
 God’s fingerprints there I could scan.
 He awaited me everywhere.




 Electricity (1923)

 Mankind’s great servant I,
   A servant long unknown
 And still unseen, save in the sky
   When I illume its zone.
 I sweep around the stars,
   Ascend through spaces dim.
 I light my lamps where night unbars
   Above the mountains grim.

 But still my chief delight
   Is not to rock the deep,
 And flash my fires across the night
   Where angry tempests sweep.
 It is to drive the keel,
   Bear words from place to place,
 To swing the beam, and turn the wheel,
   And serve the human race.

[Illustration of a stormy night. Foreground fills bottom third of the
frame with wind-swept grass. Pine tree fills the frame and is
illuminated by a single lightning bolt. Behind the tree whiteness fills
the middle third of the frame; its rounded top together with its
juxtaposition with the rounded foreground gives it a crescent shape
(the moon?). A few stars are visible.]




 An Electric Personality (1923)

 A most _electric_ gentleman
 He was his whole life through.
 Down busy ways his _current_ ran,
 As all his friends well knew.
 He was _live wire_, so to say,
 He liked to see things go,
 _Magnetic_ in most every way
 --_A human dynamo_.

 One day a blue coat collared him
 When on some mischief bent,
 And in a jail cell dark and dim
 His next few days were spent.
 What was the _charge_ against him? Yes
 ’Twas natural, you see,
 So much so you could really guess
 --Assault and _Battery_.




 The End of the Trail (1923)

 I must travel the miles till the journey is done,
   Whatsoever the turn of the way.
 I shall bring up at last at the set of the sun,
   And shall rest at the close of the day.
 Let me deal as I journey with foeman and friends
   In a way that no man can assail,
 And find nothing but peace at the roadway’s last bend,
   When I come to the end of the trail.

 We are brothers who travel a great, common road,
   And the journey is easy for none.
 We must succor the weary and lift on the load
   Of the pilgrim whose courage is done.
 Let me deal with them each on my way to the West
   With a mercy that never shall fail,
 And lie down to my dreams with a conscience at rest
   When I come to the end of the trail.





 If Christ Is Not Divine (1923)

 If Christ is not divine,
 Then lay the Book away,
 And every blessed faith resign
 That has so long been yours and mine,
 Through many a trying day;
 Forget the place of bended knee;
 And dream no more of worlds to be.

 If Christ is not divine,
 Go seal again the tomb;
 Take down the Cross, Redemption’s sign;
 Quench all the stars of hope that shine;
 Forget the upper room;
 And let us turn and travel on
 Across the night that knows no dawn.




 The Making of Home (1923)

 God took a hearth-fire, warm and bright,
   And planted love beside it;
 Spun happy laughter through its light,
   So gay no gloom could hide it.
 He wove a golden thread of song
   Among the flick’ring shadows,
 Like that where days are bright and long
   Upon the summer meadows.

 He made a sanctuary fair
   With His own presence gifted.
 He built a holy altar there
   Where hearts should oft be lifted.
 With His watch-care perennial
   He wrapped it ’round and framed it.
 He flung a roof above it all,
   And Home was what He named it.




 No Room in the Inn (1923)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 The stars in the heavens were gleaming
 On mountains, and meadows, and rills.
 The song of the angels was streaming
 While shepherds kept watch on the hills.
 The wise men bent low by a manger,
 Apart from Earth’s striving and din,
 To welcome the Heavenly Stranger,
 For there was no room in the inn.

 The years have not halted their sweeping,
 It is Christmas again on the earth.
 Again the glad season we’re keeping,
 Recounting the tale of His birth.
 Let not our hearts be, as He sees us,
 So crowded with pleasure and sin
 They can offer no welcome to Jesus.
 Lord, let there be room in the inn.




 Our Hearts Forget (1923)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 Our hearts forget,
 Amid the daily round of toil and fret.
 They are so weak, so prone to lose their hold
 On dreams of yesterday, and treasures old.
 The thoughts that thrilled them in a vanished day,
 Forgotten now, are cold in ashes gray.
 Life brings us wondrous days and hours, but yet

 Our hearts forget
 The times of joy and vision we have met,
 The binding vows we once so bravely made,
 The fond petitions that we trembling laid
 Before the Great, White, Shining Throne above,
 The tender, wistful, clinging bonds of love,
 Contrition’s anguished and tear-washed regret
 Our hearts forget.




 A Prayer (1923)

 We thank Thee, Father, for the care
   That did not come to try us,
 The burden that we did not bear,
   The trouble that passed by us,
 The task we did not fail to do,
   The hurt we did not cherish,
 The friend who did not prove untrue,
   The joy that did not perish.

 We thank Thee for the blinding storm
   That did not loose its swelling,
 And for the sudden blight of harm
   That came not nigh our dwelling.
 We thank Thee for the dart unsped,
   The bitter word unspoken,
 The grave unmade, the tear unshed,
   The heart-tie still unbroken.




 The Second Wind (1923)

 When “Lizzie” starts to climb a hill
   Too hard to make “on high,”
 She goes it very well until
   Her power begins to die.
 Then, shifting to another gear,
   She leaves the slope behind,
 And hustles on without a fear
   Upon her second wind.

 I notice it is so with men.
   They start out with a will,
 They go it well awhile, and then,
   Slow down midway the hill.
 But, seeing that their strength is run,
   They change their gear, and find
 The world’s best work is often done
   On people’s second wind.




 The Serving Giant (1923)

 The mighty giant of the air,
 More ancient than the sun
 Whose power is vibrant everywhere
 That restless force may run
 Shakes the foundation of the hill,
 Or rends the ground in twain,
 Or blasts the forest at his will
 And levels all again.

 And yet he stoops to hold the light
 That aged eyes may see.
 He warms the baby’s feet at night,
 And cooks for company.
 He does a thousand little things
 To help the world along.
 He who the most of service brings
 Is strongest of the strong.




 The Teacher v1923

 HE NEVER wandered far from his own town,
   The little hamlet where he lived and died,
 And yet his pupils traveled up and down
   The whole wide world of town and countryside.
 He sought no honor to adorn his name
   Nor dreamed of crowns that tarnish and grow dim;
 But those he taught achieved undying fame
   And in their triumph hour remembered him.

 He had no time to mold the wide world’s life
   Or take a hand in the affairs of state;
 But others did he send into the strife
   And through them helped to shape his people’s fate.
 He won no earthly riches for himself.
   He had no time to waste in seeking gold
 But every day bestowed on him a pelf
   Of love whose value never could be told.

[Poem is on cover page with the following additional text: The Sunday
School Journal, September 1923. The cover has an illustration of a
rural scene. Bottom third is landscape. A dirt road in the foreground
gradually descends into a town having a church on its outskirts. The
road is lined with bushes. Fields extend from the bushes. A large oak
tree in the foreground frames the scene’s left side and top half.]




 Transforming Love (1923)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 Love transforms all things.
 Lone days are touched with light,
 And trying moments lose their stings,
 And vexing things come right.
 Love’s ointment to our eyes applied,
 We see with vision glorified.

 Love transforms all things--
 Worn faces, hardened hands.
 To the poor hovel glory clings,
 For Love’s heart understands.
 Whatever it beholds is fair;
 It sees each hidden beauty there.




 The Window of Dreams (1923)

 There is a little window.
   ’Tis called, I think, a screen.
 Thru it the strangest people
   And fairest things are seen.
 Calm valleys, silent woodlands,
   Tall summits, shining streams,
 Long roads and busy cities
   Are in this world of dreams.

 There weary hearts may travel,
   Each to its wonted place;
 And lonely ones may revel
   In pictured act and face.
 There to our hidden longings
   The waiting answer gleams
 The while our thoughts inhabit
   This pictured world of dreams.




 Brotherhood (1924)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 Let black be black and white be white,
   As they were meant to be;
 But let the hearts of men be right
   On every land and sea.
 Let brown and yellow boast their race,
   Their blood no taint e’er tell;
 But let them each possess the grace
   To wish a neighbor well.

 Let us forget our foolish strife,
   And all our groundless hate.
 We needs must live a common life,
   And share a common fate.
 Whatever troubles we must stem,
   Whate’er our place or name,
 Beneath the crust that covers them
   Our hearts are all the same.




 The Builder v1924
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 The builder of the future
   Is not the trader keen,
 The driver of the turbine,
   Nor any swift machine;
 Not he who rides in triumph
   Through the admiring town,
 Fawning for public praises
   And seeking for renown.

 The builder of the future
   Sits not upon a throne.
 He toils among the shadows,
   His struggles oft unknown.
 He is the one who kindles
   And keeps the fires of truth,
 The teacher who is molding
   The plastic heart of youth.




 Childhood on the Farm (1924)

 In many a crowded city
   Where moves the human tide,
 Eyes look with eager longing
   To some old countryside.
 Hearts that have long been sated
   With earth recall the charm
 Of life’s morning splendor
   In childhood on the farm.

 From many a path of glory
   And many a throne of power
 Is still recalled the wonder
   Of some dear, distant hour.
 Men look through years of toiling,
   Of sorrow, strife, and harm,
 And treasures unforgotten
   Their childhood on the farm.




 The Clock (1924)

 WHAT is the matter with our clock
 I cannot understand.
 It sounds its steady old tick-tock
 With mien and manner grand.
 To look at its great open face
 You’d think it truthful quite.
 I’m sorry such is not the case.
 It’s hardly ever right.

 Just yesterday when I was blue
 Because Tom didn’t call
 To play with me when work was through,
 Its hands scarce moved at all.
 When I went to his house today
 To spend an hour or so,
 We’d scarce got started at our play
 Till it was time to go.




 The Dream (1924)

 I had a dream the other night,
   Too sweet for word of tongue,
 Of days when, beautiful and bright,
   The children all were young.
 I saw them playing on the floor
   And ’mongst the dooryard flowers.
 Soft baby voices came once more
   From unforgotten hours.

 I came from work when eve was late
   And all the sky was gold.
 They ran to meet me at the gate
   With greetings as of old.
 I helped to tuck them in at night
   With prayers of happiness,
 But my arms ached when dawn was bright
   With a great emptiness.




  An Easter Vision (1924)

 Whene’er I hear the Easter Bells
 Ring out their carols gay,
 The graves from all the hills and dells
 Dissolve from sight away.
 I see the mighty planet left
 Without a marble stone
 To tell of death, or one bereft
 Who comes to weep alone.

 Dear hands, long folded to their rest,
 Return to touch my own,
 And voices memory has blessed
 In each familiar tone
 Speak as in other days to me;
 While on the springtime’s breath
 Is borne to every land and sea
 The news: “There is no death.”




 The Electric Spark (1924)

 SEE this snappy little spark
 Flashing pertly in the dark;
 Coming with its sudden gleam
 Out from nowhere, it would seem;
 Glowing here against the shade,
 Fire unkindled, light unmade,
 Brother to the bolt’s fierce blow
 And the driving dynamo.

 Here is hid the mystery,
 Mayhap, of the land and sea.
 All creation’s story may
 Hide within this flashing ray.
 Light, and heat, and force it holds;
 Boundless energy unfolds;
 Tells the secret, if we find it,
 Of the God who stands behind it.




 Fade-Outs (1924)

 Faces, like stars, rise on our little ken;
   Shine on our souls with warm and cheering ray.
 Then, like the stars, they pass from us again,
   Leaving the dreary world of yesterday.
 Friends slip into our little world awhile.
   Joys come to thrill us with their rapture keen.
 The friends go trudging on their winding mile
   The joys fade as a picture on the screen.

 Altho unseen, they are not wholly gone.
   A friendship once established cannot die.
 A joy once tasted sweetly lingers on,
   A perfumed presence never seen but nigh.
 In the great drama of the fleeting years
   They come upon the stage and play their part.
 Then, tho each wondrous vision disappears,
   It leaves its deathless image on the heart.




  Film Judgment (1924)

 The man who reads the titles,
   The man who tramps our toes,
 The man who holds the end seat
   Whatever comes and goes,
 The man who laughs so loudly
   That all the house can hear,
 The man who with his snoring
   Outrages every ear.

 All died, and took their journey
   Where the unseen begins,
 And stood before the judgment
   To answer for their sins.
 They got a common sentence.
   Each one was ordered flat
 To sit and fume forever
   Behind a picture hat.




 Finding God (1924)

 I found Him in the whisp’ring pines,
   And in the beauty of the rose;
 I found Him where the first star shines,
   Above the Summer day’s soft close;
 I found Him where the storms grew wild;
   I found Him in the happy face
 And manner of a little child,
   Revealing loveliness and grace.

 I found Him in the swinging suns
   That wheel their way through endless space,
 And in the humblest path that runs
   To love’s sequestered dwelling place;
 I found Him where the violets dwell,
   And where the bluebirds wheel and dart;
 But never really knew Him well
   Until I found Him in my heart.




 The Firefly (1924)

 We’ve never gotten to it,
 With all our learning keen.
 We simply cannot do it
 With any fine machine.
 Old Nature’s lanterns greet us
 When dusk succeeds the sun.
 A thousand miles they beat us
 On all we’ve ever done.

 In spite of shining crescent
 And starbeam’s boasted light,
 The firefly’s incandescent
 Most glorifies the night.
 Across the meadows flying
 Cold light it generates.
 We, too, have long been trying,
 But Time still stands and waits.




 The God of the Beginning (1924)

 IN the beginning was God. Beyond Time’s threshold he hovered,
 Back of the earliest dawn or the flush of the first fair spring.
 Farther than eye has disclosed or the keenest thought has discovered,
 Moved in the silences vast the Maker of everything.
 Back of the first heart-ties and the first warm heart-fires lighted,
 Back of gleaming sky, the sea, and the shining sod,
 Back of the first fond dream that a hopeful heart e’er sighted,
 Lingered the Soul Divine and brooded the Love of God.

 IN the beginning was God. O’er struggle and strife diurnal,
 The void, and the mist, and the darkness, the mire, and the slime, and the clay,
 Through the long course of the ages has watched the Spirit Eternal
 Seeking for men the dawn of a better and kindlier day.
 Brooding, watching, and hoping--but, withal, ever beseeching,
 Over the track of time a saving shade it has cast,
 And into the distant future as far as the years are reaching.
 In the beginning was God, and God shall be at the last.




 Jove’s Plaint (1924)

 The good old days have vanished,
 And I suppose forever.
 My thunderbolt once quivered
 O’er mountain, plain and river.
 But now they have it captured,
 These humans so audacious.
 They dole it out through cables,
 To serve their plans rapacious.

 They sell it through a meter,
 Howe’er the gods may scoff it.
 They send a monthly statement,
 And make a profit off it.
 Alas, my bolt of thunder
 (And what worse could befall it?)
 Is hopelessly commercialized.
 “Juice” now I think they call it.




 The Land of Heart’s Desire (1924)

 There is a land of wonder
 With fields and towers agleam.
 I often see it yonder
 Beyond the Hills of Dream,
 Touched by the glow of morning,
 Lit by the sunset’s fire,
 Or with starbeams adorning--
 The Land of Heart’s Desire.

 Along the road of duty
 We daily struggle on;
 But e’er we touch its beauty,
 Eluding us, ’tis gone.
 Yet through the clinging shadows,
 The brambles, and the mire,
 It lures us toward its meadows--
 The Land of Heart’s Desire.




 Minds (1924)

 SOME minds are flaming rockets
 That flit among the stars;
 And some are gaily nickeled
 And painted motor cars;
 And some are lumbering wagons
 That slowly make their way,
 With nothing keen to offer
 And nothing fine to say.

 THE swiftly flaming rocket
 Loses its brilliancy.
 The fine car is supplanted
 By one more fair to see.
 But the slow-moving wagon
 That lumbers down the road
 Is certain of arrival
 And bears the heavy load.




 Miracle (1924)

 Whoever saw a garden grow,
   Or watched a robin build her nest,
 Or lingered in the flaming glow
   Of sunset blazing in the West;
 Whoever walked the fruitful plain,
   And saw the green stalks reach, and swell,
 And ripen to a field of grain
   Knows earth is full of miracle.

 Whoever wandered in the wood,
   And rambled down its aisle of dreams,
 Or sought the orchard path, or stood
   Where falls the murmur of a stream;
 Whoever watched a cloudland wild,
   Or sensed the twilight’s gentle spell,
 Or prattled with a little child
   Knows life is full of miracle.




 The Picture’s Lament (1924)

 They take great liberties with me,
 Nor ever ask me yea or nay.
 I’m just as weary as can be
 From prancing on a screen all day.
 I’ve dug, and climbed, and laughed, and wept,
 Loitered, and danced to make a show;
 And not a moment have I slept.
 They keep me always on the go.

 No choice is mine. I needs must move,
 Swiftly, obedient, silently.
 No fields of freedom do I rove.
 My course is parceled out for me.
 But this I cannot quite forget
 --If I can wake some old refrain
 Or still a rush of wild regret,
 I shall not then have toiled in vain.




 Prayer for Normal Men (1924)

 For every poor, defective soul that wanders
 In the dark shades of subjectivity,
 For each deluded mind that glibly flounders
 In the foul mire of abnormality,
 Give us a host who cheerful laughter scatter,
 Whose willing hands toil on in love’s sweet right,
 Who plant the roses, guide the feet that patter
 Around the hearth of happiness at night.

 Give us, O God, a race of normal people
 Who walk no paths of morbidness apart;
 Who dwell not in the bog, nor yet the steeple,
 But in the dusty way, the busy mart;
 Who like their work, care for the folks about them,
 And make each day a thing of joy and song.
 This world of our’s could never do without them.
 They are the men who make it move along.




 The Railroad (1924)

 WHERE do they go, these shining rails
 That ramble so far away
 That seem to reach where the twilight pales
 At the beautiful gates of day?”
 “They run to the wider world, my boy,
 Of dreaming, and strife, and again,
 With its mingling of weariness and joy,
 To the city--and back again.

 Out of the valley and o’er the hill
 Where childhood has had its day,
 Out of the hamlet so small and still
 And into the far away,
 On, on to the world of toil, my lad,
 With its struggle of brawn and brain,
 Some of it good and some of it bad,
 To the city--and back again.




 Shadows on the Wall (1924)

 Coming, going, thru the play,
 Flashing on the screen,
 Do the actors take their way.
 Briefly each is seen.
 What are they--these shapes that move,
 Forms that rise and fall,
 Urged by hope, or fear, or love?
 Shadows on the wall.

 In the daily strain and strife
 Shift and change appear.
 On the larger stage of life
 Mingle smile and tear.
 Here our little race we run,
 Then are vanished all.
 What are we when all is done?
 Shadows on the wall.




 Sorrow (1924)

 God sometimes drops the shadows o’er us,
   And leaves them for a space,
 That we may clearly see before us
 The image of the love he bore us
   Reflected on his face.

 He sometimes sends us hours of grieving,
   That we may slip away
 From sounds and voices so deceiving,
 And once again in faith believing
   Kneel at his throne and pray.

 He sometimes leaves us to our weeping,
   Though bitter seem our tears,
 That briny drops from we eyes creeping
 May wake some happiness long sleeping
   For gladder, sweeter years.




 The Things That I Believe (1924)

 The things that I believe
   --These things are life to me.
 Some all the senses might deceive,
   For some I cannot see;
 But in the tempest fierce and old
   I feel their strong truth grip and hold.

 The things that I believe
   --I cannot let them go;
 And empty-hearted grope and grieve
   In darkness and in woe.
 So, God, I thank my every star
   They are no fewer than they are.




 Today and Tomorrow (1924)

 Could something only make today
   As lovely as tomorrow,
 As free from care and shadows gray,
   As void of tears and sorrow,
 The world would be a perfect place,
   Without a woe to blight it.
 Earth would be rich in every grace,
   With happiness to light it.

 Yet day is day, and life is life.
   Time e’er repeats its story.
 Each morning brings its toil and strife,
   Likewise its gleam of glory.
 Each brings its mingled shine and shade,
   Its mingled joy and sorrow,
 For each today God ever made
   Was wrought from a tomorrow.




 The Tree (1924)

 It stood upon a meadow fair,
 A green and leafy tree.
 Gaily it met the breezes there,
 Lovely it was to see.
 One night a storm of wind and rain
 Rent it from earth apart.
 The reason then was very plain.
 Decay was at its heart.

 He was a youth of promise fine,
 The strongest of the crowd.
 His features wore the stamp divine,
 His eye was clear and proud.
 He could have lived to purpose high
 And played a noble part.
 But no, he fell. The reason why?
 Decay was at his heart.




 The Unknown Soldier (1924)

 The guns are silent in the valley now.
 The river creeps serenely on its way.
 Still clings the ivy to the rugged brow;
 Of yonder hill, and roses grace the day.
 No grave was heaped. No word of prayer was said.
 No stone was reared against the pitying sky.
 None ever knew where rests the silent dead
 As unrevealing years go drifting by.

 And yet he is not lost. This quiet sod;
 Can rest him quite as well as anywhere,
 Beneath the gentle, sleepless eye of God,
 Whose robins sing for him when Spring is fair.
 His life is wrought into the victory.
 Glory is his. He need not urge his claim.
 He lives on in the better age to be,
 Though sleeping in a grave without a name.




 What Does It Matter? (1924)

 What does it matter if here or there
 Is a strand of joy or a thread of care,
 If when the web has been finished all
 The final pattern is beautiful?
 The One who weaves on the world’s great loom
 Must make His fabric of shine and gloom.
 It takes the gold and the somber hue
 To make it lovely when He is through.

 What does it matter if there or here
 Is a song of joy or a falling tear,
 If at the hour of the setting sun
 A lovely product is held forth done?
 The One who orders the passing hours
 With ceaseless cycle of sun and showers
 Fashions the color and rare design
 Of a growing tapestry divine.




 Why We Are Here (1924)

 OUR minds were made to search the deeps
   Of Truth’s clear-flowing stream;
 Our feet to scale the rugged steeps
   Of faith and hope and dream;
 Our hands to toil and serve and lift,
   To help and heal and bless;
 Our hearts to bring the priceless gift
   Of love and tenderness.

 Our lives were made to struggle on,
   The upward path to plod;
 Our souls to catch the glint of dawn
   From the white throne of God;
 Our lips the helpful word to speak,
   The tender song to sing;
 Our eyes to search the world and seek
   The good in everything.




 The Age of a Heart (1925)

 SO LONG as stars are bright and fair
 And skies are blue and clear;
 So long as joy is in the air
 And Dreamland hovers near;
 So long as roses blossom gay
 And song is on the tongue--
 Tho brow be lined and hair be gray
 That long the heart is young.

 But when the sky grows dull and sere
 And roses fade and die;
 When song no longer holds the ear
 Nor Dreamland hovers nigh;
 When passing days no wonder bring,
 No great adventure hold--
 In spite of time or anything
 [Transcriber’s note: Last line is missing from source.]




 The Children v1925

 The dear little children that climb on the knee,
 The promise and hope of the morrows to be
 --Their song is unfailing; their spirits are bright;
 Their hearts are courageous from morning till night,
 How helpless they are! On our mercy they wait.
 The hands of their elders must fashion their fate.
 They are frail little barks to be launched on the sea
 --These dear little children that climb on the knee.

 Oh guide them with hands that are tender and true.
 The voyage is long and the lighthouses few.
 What struggles await them! What conflicts and fears!
 What dream castles shattered! What heartaches and tears!
 Their skies will have clouds, and the clouds will bring rain.
 Then all will give way to the sunshine again.
 Bound upon their souls are the ages to be
 --These dear little children that climb on the knee.




 Credo (1925)

 Lord, I believe
 That thou hast made the earth, the sky, the sea,
 And all the members of immensity,
 The rose that blooms beside the traveled way;
 That thou didst weave
 The fabric of the dawn and close of day.

 Lord, I believe
 That thou hast fashioned me to be thine own,
 Hast made my human heart to be thy throne,
 Hast made this voice of mine that it should sing
 From morn till eve,
 These hands the precious gift of love to bring.

 Lord, I believe
 That yonder, past the valley’s shaded rim,
 The lifting crest that seems so cold and dim
 Is but the outlines of another shore
 That doth receive
 The loved and lost of earth forevermore.




 The Fabulous City (1925)

 There rises in the distance
 Across the Vale of Dreams
 A fair and lovely city,
 Built on get-rich-quick schemes.
 Its towers are bright and shining.
 Its streets are paved with gold,
 Paid for by mine promotions
 And stock sales bad and bold.
 Wondrous that shining city
 Before our vision stands,
 But when we come to touch it
 It crumbles ’neath our hands.
 Ethereal its fabric,
 Intangible its soil.
 ’Twas builded with the fortunes
 We never made in oil.




 Home v1925

 Standing beside a quiet path they found it.
   A humble little house it was, and low.
 With patient hands they planted flowers around it,
   And flung its windows to the sun’s warm glow.
 They laid an open book upon the table,
   And hung a simple picture on the wall.
 They trained a vining rose around the gable.
   They built a throne and crowned love Lord of all.

 They kindled on the hearth a fair flame gleaming,
   And set a row of chairs before its light
 Where happy eyes should cast their cheerful beaming
   With rest and song that come with falling night.
 They reared with loving hands a fireside altar
   Where hungry hearts in reverence might come,
 Where trembling lips might their petitions falter
   Before the Throne of Grace, and lo, ’twas HOME.




 Palm Sunday v1925

 Adown the ringing street he came,
 The Lord of all the years.
 A thousand voices of acclaim
 Were ringing in his ears.
 Silent was he who knew his way
 Of mingled joy and loss
 Began where Bartimaeus lay,
 And ended at a cross.

 And ever it has been as then.
 The path of triumph trod
 Amid the loud acclaim of men,
 Beneath the smile of God,
 Begins where need holds forth its hands,
 And pleads with weary eyes,
 And ends where, grim and silent, stands
 The Hill of Sacrifice.




 Roads v1925

 There is a road to happiness;
   There is a road to pain;
 A road to failure and success;
   A road to loss and gain;
 A road to meadows gay with flowers;
   A road to evenfall;
 A road to bright and shadowed hours--
   God lets me tread them all.

 There is a quiet road that finds
   The little singing streams;
 A road that reaches till it winds
   Along the Hills of Dreams;
 A road to hope, to duty done,
   And to that last clear call
 Across the gates of setting sun--
   God lets me tread them all.




 The Teacher’s Reward (1925)

 Who dwells with everlasting truth
   And lets that truth possess his soul;
 Who has companionship with youth
   To keep him young as swift years roll;
 Who writes his story on the page
   Of history by labor hard;
 And builds his life into his age,
   Has his reward.

 Who opens eyes that else were blind
   Till they behold the earth and sky;
 Who wakens interest in the mind
   That else were barren, dead, and dry;
 Who gently takes a weary hand
   And lays it in the Palm that’s scarred;
 Though others own the gold and land,
   Has his reward.




 Via Dolorosa (1925)

 Out the Damascus Gate it ran,
   A weary, cheerless road
 Along which stumbled once a Man,
   A cross-tree for His load.
 The street was teeming with the throng.
   The air was chill and gray,
 The hour when Jesus passed along
   That Dolorosa Way.

 It wound a slope that flung its height
   Against a sullen sky.
 Upon a summit--tragic sight--
   Three crosses lifted high.
 But lo, beyond them, manifold
   The lifting glow of day.
 It ended at the gates of gold,
   That Dolorosa Way.




 The Chameleon (1926)

 Upon a green leaf he is green,
 Upon a red one ruddy.
 He suits his color to the scene--
 Blue, brown, or grey, or muddy.

 Wherever he may chance to go
 He meets the crowd’s demanding.
 In Rome he does as Romans do,
 And so he keeps his standing.

 I know not his philosophy--
 Platonic or Aurelian.
 No matter. Who would want to be
 Reputed a chameleon?




 The City’s Nerves (1926)

 Somewhere is closed a circuit,
 And miles and miles away
 A filament is lighted;
 A wheel goes into play;
 A thought is carried quickly,
 In clearest tones expressed,
 Because an impulse flashes
 North, South, or East, or West.

 And how? Beneath the pavement,
 Away from human gaze,
 Across the humid darkness
 Wires run in countless ways.
 In cables, ever-reaching
 Through subterranean curves,
 They carry thought and action.
 They are the city’s nerves.

[Illustration’s upper half depicts an above-ground daytime view of a
cityscape. The lower half depicts a below-ground view cast in darkness
except for two unclothed men; bolts of electricity extend from their
hands. The art is signed “Pancoast.”]




 Doing It Well (1926)

 I SAW him do his act before a large and motley throng
 That sought relief and laughter in the house of dreams and song.
 Just who he was or whence he came of course I cannot tell.
 He only played a banjo, but he played the banjo well.

 I saw her washing dishes in a simple little cot.
 Her life was spent in toiling there upon the selfsame spot.
 Her face was furrowed, and each line a story had to tell.
 She only kept a household, but she kept the household well.

 I saw him fire an engine in a vast and grimy room,
 Though it was hard to see him in the still and dusty gloom.
 He watched each motion keenly as the pistons rose and fell.
 He only fired an engine, but he fired the engine well.

 I saw him digging ditches with the mud upon his hands,
 And with that steady motion that a digger understands.
 He claimed no fame nor fortune; only brawn he had to sell.
 He was but digging ditches, but he dug the ditches well.

 It matters rather little what task one may choose to do,
 So long as it is honest and his purposes are true.
 The years will ring his story far upon their golden bell,
 If he will only do the thing he may be doing well.




 Enslaved Lightning (1926)

 A nature worshipper, long dead,
   Came back in ghostly form,
 To visit where, in ages sped,
   He bowed before the storm.
 The city streets with radiance burned
   Through every darkened hour,
 And every busy wheel was turned
   By harnessed lightning power.

 “Ah me,” he said, “The times do change.
   This is a different ball.
 So altered everything, so strange,
   I’m not at home at all.
 These moderns have audacious wills;
   The gods we served aright,
 They’ve put to work to turn their mills
   And light their streets at night.”

[Illustration of a window view of a city’s downtown on a stormy night.
A generator is in the foreground next to the window. The window frames
a skyscraper, other buildings, and street lights; they are all filled
with light. A bolt of lightning extends from the sky to the generator.
The art piece is signed “A Sturges” and below it the caption reads,
“Decoration by A Sturges.”]




 Flowers Are Thoughts of God (1926)

 The flowers are the thoughts of God.
 They bloom in sun and shadow,
 By traveled path, or virgin sod,
 In every lovely meadow;
 In dooryards where the children play,
 And hours are swiftly winging;
 And Love comes at the close of day,
 Its selfless tribute bringing.

 Silent they grow, each in its place,
 With cheer for all who love them,
 Breathing their perfume in the face
 Of all who bend above them.
 They blossom where the weary plod
 Their ways of toil and duty.
 The flowers are the thoughts of God;
 His love speaks in their beauty.




 A Grace for Meals (1926)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 Thou who doest hold all things at Thy command
   The blessing of the sunshine and the rain,
 Thou never hast withheld Thy kindly hand
   From giving us the fruitage of the plain.
 Long hast Thou sheltered us from every storm.
   Long hast Thou seen that we were duly fed.
 Long hast Thou kept our fireside bright and warm.
   And so we thank Thee for our daily bread.

 As we assemble at our simple board
   In all the gladness that is ours today,
 We thank Thee for Thy presence with us, Lord,
   And ask that Thou wilt be our guest alway.
 May all Thy children, wheresoe’er they be,
   Share in Thy bounty, by Thy hand be led,
 And lift their hearts from every land and sea,
   With us, to thank Thee for their daily bread.




 The Grey Host (1926)

 From the silent Southern river,
   From the reaching Western plain,
 From the quaint New England hillside
   Comes a host to march again.
 From Manila and El Caney,
   From the depths of many a sea,
 From the flow’ring fields of Flanders,
   Come the sons of Liberty.

 Who are these that tread the silence?
   They are our departed brave,
 Who, despite their years of dreaming,
   Still are troubled in the grave.
 See, they bear a flaming banner,
   These who died for us of yore.
 This the message that it flashes:
   “Brothers, dream of war no more.”




 Heart Gates (1926)

 There is a wondrous country,
   A city built foursquare.
 And each and all are welcome
   To find a dwelling there.
 The nations gather homeward,
   Peoples from far and wide.
 Directions do not matter
   With gates on every side.

 And is not this the mission
   That God to us has given--
 To make the world we live in
   Seem more and more like heaven?
 Shall we not seek the friendship
   Of peoples far and wide,
 And let the heart’s fair city
   Have gates on every side?




 The High Tension Line (1926)

 It has no boast to make at all.
   Patient it holds unto its task
 Summer and Winter, Spring and Fall,
   With naught to tell and naught to ask.

 Humble and steady, sure and true,
   Seeking no change of work or place,
 It has its given work to do,
   And does it with a changeless grace.

 In its deep channel underground
   It serves its purpose day by day,
 Without a stir, without a sound,
   Though days be fair, though days be gray.

 And yet what power is carried down
   The conduit through which it runs
 To turn the factories of the town,
   And flood its streets with blazing suns.

 I know some men who are the same.
   They make no boast with foolish lips,
 But all their spirits are aflame.
   Power tingles to their finger tips.




 “I am not eloquent” (1926)

 “I am not eloquent,” he said.
 “I cannot spin of thought’s fine gold
   A sentence lovely to be read,
   A story wondrous to be told.”
   Thus did he answer God one day
   Upon a new Tiberian shore.
   And God said, “No, but you can say
   The word of love. I ask no more.”
   And so across the hurried years,
   Across the mighty land and sea,
   Through calm and tempest, joy and tears,
   He bore the message faithfully.
   He bore it till the set of sun,
   Until his time and strength were spent.
   Today the service he has done,
   Beyond all speech, is eloquent.




 Knocking (1926)

 THERE’S a sign that always thrills me
 When its pounding threat I hear,
 One that always rudely thrills me
 With the clutching grip of fear.
 Though the thought of it be shocking,
 And the homeward journey long,
 When I hear the engine knocking
 I am certain something’s wrong.

 I have known a lot of people,
 High and low, and near and far,
 On the street, beneath the steeple,
 Who were like a motor car.
 Though successes may come flocking,
 And though he be going strong,
 When I hear a person knocking
 I am certain something’s wrong.




 Life (1926)

 I said to God: “Life is a wine-cup,
   A thing to be drained while we may;
 And those who can drink it most deeply
   And emptiest cast it away.
 The ones who have claimed the full measure
   Of all the joy it can give,
 Are those who have learned most completely
   What it means to be conscious and live.”

 But God said: “No, life is a picture,
   A thing you may paint as you will.
 Your colors are of your own choosing,
   And yours is the measure of skill.
 You may paint, and the curse or the blessing
   With all of their burden or worth,
 When your brush has been dropped will be treasured
   As your gift to the children of earth.”




 The Question v1926

 THE women are cutting their tresses
 To look just the same as the men.
 They have thrown away skirts, and have taken to shirts,
 And collars, and neckties; and then
 The men have begun wearing knickers,
 With hose of elaborate art.
 They radiate bliss, but the problem is this:
 How are we to tell them apart?

 One day when I saw a young lady
 Drop a handkerchief, quickly I ran
 And returned it to her with my heart all astir,
 But lo, when I spoke, ’twas a man.
 Then I slapped a young man on the shoulder,
 And he turned with a manner most tart.
 ’Twas a lady attired as the fashion required.
 Say, how do you tell them apart?




 The Rooster (1926)

 HE RISES at the break of day,
 Sometimes a little bit before it,
 To tell us that the dawn is gray
 And he is proudly gloating o’er it.
 He makes his boast that nothing’s wrong
 About him or his constitution.
 His voice proclaims with accent strong
 That he’s a going institution.

 He has been whipped a hundred times,
 A hundred times run helter-skelter,
 But still his raucous challenge chimes
 As though he’d never sought for shelter.
 He has the courage to arise,
 And sally forth, and be a booster,
 Though gray or sunny be the skies.
 Here’s to the spirit of the rooster.




 The Rulers of the Earth (1926)

 Jim Jones with a will undivided
   Toiled on with his reaper and plow.
 He brought up his brood, and provided
   For them by the sweat of his brow.
 Whenever some plan was in question,
   In kindly and old-fashioned way
 He gave this unchanging suggestion:
   “Whatever the women folks say.”

 The world with its strife and its glory
   Goes seeking for treasure and charm.
 The tale of its years is the story
   Of Jim Jones who toiled on the farm.
 The men wield the shovel and hammer,
   But if we should ask them the way
 The world should be run, they would stammer:
   “Whatever the women folks say.”




 Sing a Little Song (1926)

 When the heart is weary
 And the road is long;
 When the day is dreary,
 Sing a little song.
 Sing it in the spirit;
 Let joy linger near it;
 And your heart will hear it,
 Hear it and be strong.

 When your hope is paling,
 When your plans go wrong,
 When your dreams are failing,
 Sing a little song.
 Send it thrilling, winging,
 Sunshine with its bringing.
 It will wake to singing
 Others in the throng.




 Team-work (1926)

 I take my horses out to plow,
 Or sow, or run the mower.
 One pulls away right down the row,
 One goes a little slower.
 They’ve often taught me in the past,
 Pulling in double leather,
 They only get along as fast
 As both can go together.

 In every human progress we
 Together do the striving.
 And toward the better day to be
 Together we are driving.
 By team-work we must win at last,
 Whatever be the weather.
 We only get along as fast
 As all can go together.

[Illustration of a farming scene. Bottom third of frame is landscape.
The foreground features a farmer walking behind and controlling a plow
being pulled by two horses. Middle ground has gently rolling hills and
a group of trees. Background has mountains. Upper two-thirds of frame is
sky with white, billowing clouds. Art piece is signed “McV” (stands for
G. R. McVicker).]




 Their First Meal (1926)

 The ham was cold. The milk was blue,
   The biscuits all were hard.
 The eggs and the potatoes, too,
   Were strong with rancid lard.
 Life leaned upon a slender staff
   In that first offering,
 But never banquet tasted half
   So pleasant to a king.

 The years went by. They played the game,
   And soon amassed a hoard.
 The richest dainties skill could frame
   Were found upon their board.
 With choicest viands did they greet
   The great who chose to come,
 But never did they taste so sweet
   As that first meal at home.

[The first letter of the poem’s title overlays an illustration of a
house with a front porch.]




 The Umbrella Mender (1926)

 “Have you any umbrellas to mend?”
   He cries down the echoing street.
 He travels the town to its end--
   The city of hurrying feet.
 Why so, when the broad heavens wear
   No cloud and no shadow of gray?
 Because, when the weather is fair,
   We must think of the rainy day.

 For the rainy season will come,
   As it has since the world began.
 And some will be ready, and some
   Will have left it out of their plan.
 When it comes, it is always too late
   To appeal to our patient old friend.
 We shall not hear his cry at the gate:
   “Have you any umbrellas to mend?”




 The Cross v1927
 Luke 22:42. “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

 Upon some fateful hour and day
 Each comes to roads that cross.
 Blossoms and sunshine seems one way,
 The other care and loss.
 The spirit will be willing there
 To take the road that’s best.
 The flesh will weaken, and despair,
 And falter in the test.

 Somewhere along the life we live
 Each finds his Calvary.
 There with himself each one must strive,
 And win his victory.
 How blessed is the pathway trod
 When flesh ’neath spirit fails;
 When cross the ways of self and God,
 And God’s good way prevails.




 Cupid’s Lament (1927)

 The coal oil lamp is now no more,
 With flame to dimness fingered.
 A gleaming chandelier is o’er
 The spot where lovers lingered.
 Where all is bright they will not go.
 No one can change or doubt it.
 They want to sit where lights are low.
 What can I do about it?

 It was much easier for me
 In days that now are olden,
 When prying people could not see.
 Then all love’s dreams were golden.
 They sought a corner that the night
 Had curtained--you have seen them;
 But now the dusk-destroying light,
 Alas, has come between them.




 A Day at a Time (1927)

 A day at a time the world moves on;
 A day at a time is our toiling done;
 A day at a time do we have the dawn,
 And come to the setting of the sun;
 A day at a time our fate appears;
 A day at a time do we build the years.
 A day at a time is the only way;
 Whatever we do must be done to-day.

 A day at a time is lifetime sent;
 A day at a time we must be content.
 However distant our dream may glow,
 A day at a time is all we go.
 A day at a time the stones are brought,
 And life’s great mosaic grandly wrought.
 A day at a time--but when all are past
 We shall reach the goal of our dreams at last.




 The Future (1927)

 A tyrant called, as tyrants used to do,
 An artist, skilled in form, and tint, and line.
 He bade him: “Paint for me a picture true
 Of the tomorrow of this calm of mine.
 Unfold for me the future’s portals wide.
 Unlock the gateway of the years to be.
 Whatever weal or woe they may betide
 Return again and prophesy to me.”

 The painter went and sought the open street.
 He lingered there through many a watchful day
 Where sons of wealth and ragged urchins meet
 To talk, and laugh, and sing, and dream, and play.
 Then once again the tyrant’s room he sought,
 Unveiled for him the finished task, and smiled.
 Lo, on the canvas he had deftly wrought
 The pictured features of a little child.




 God’s Manners (1927)

 If you would learn God’s manners,
 Fare forth some summer morn,
 And see the roses cover
 The sharpness of the thorn.
 See the sun shining brightly,
 Chasing the clouds away,
 And hear the words of gladness
 The little people say.

 Look at the green crops growing
 Up through the dewy air,
 And see the love and beauty
 Around you everywhere.
 No ugliness or evil
 Appears in sky or clod.
 Ask any summer morning,
 If you would learn of God.




 The Great Adventure (1927)

 The great adventure is not death,
   ’Tis life.
 It is to feel the pulsing round of breath,
   To take a place and hold it in the strife.
 To hope, and plan, and feel, and love, and dream,
   To look and climb
 To the far, rugged heights where visions gleam
   Of things sublime.
 Let us not live because we must,
   But live
 To feel the mighty challenge of a trust,
   To have a work to do, a gift to give.
 The pay may not be great in shining gold,
   But may be had
 Enough of satisfactions manifold
   To make us glad.




 The Heart of a Child (1927)

 Whatever you write on the heart of a child,
 No waters can wash it away.
 The sands may be shifted when billows are wild
 And the efforts of time may decay.
 Some stories may perish, some songs be forgot;
 But this ingraven record, Time changes it not.

 Whatever you write on the heart of a child,
 A story of gladness or care
 That Heaven has blessed, or that Earth has defiled,
 Will linger unchangeably there.
 Who writes it has sealed it forever and aye.
 He must answer to God on the Great Judgement Day.




 How It Started (1927)

 WHEN Thales of Miletus
 Went to the store one day
 And bought a bit of amber,
 In a real human way
 He got a piece of woolen
 To rub it up a bit,
 And lo, the lint and dust grains
 Were drawn at once to it.

 “Ha,” said old Thales, “’tis certain,
 A man half blind could see,
 This friction has begotten
 Some unseen energy.”
 To-day that power is doing
 The labor of the earth.
 How much were Thales’s amber
 And piece of woolen worth?




 In Conference (1927)

 JOHN JONES was head executive of a big city firm,
 And countless times had set his heel on some poor human worm.
 His office force was duly trained. Each knew just what to do
 To turn the nonelect away, and let the chosen through.

 People with honest errands there, tired women, busy men,
 Were told he was in conference, and couldn’t see them then.
 “Come back a little later on,” the office girl would call,
 And John would manage not to see the most of them at all.

 He passed away in course of time, as even rich men do,
 And came up to the pearly gates as though to hurry through.
 But lo, the way was firmly barred, and, sitting in a chair,
 He saw a white-robed office girl who asked his errand there.

 “I hoped,” said he, “Saint Peter would be here and let me by.”
 In standard office language she delivered this reply:
 “Saint Peter is in conference. How long? I do not know.
 Come back a little later--say a million years or so.”




 Inventive Genius (1927)

 I’VE listed the inventions
 Since ages far away,
 And noted the discoveries
 Down to the present day.
 One little thing I’ve noticed,
 Thus far, of every one.
 It’s really very simple
 --When you see how it is done.

 Somebody finds a secret
 That no one else has seen,
 Harnesses laws familiar,
 And makes a new machine.
 There’s not a task among them
 Requiring so much wit,
 But that I could have done it
 --Had I but thought of it.




 Morning Prayer (1927)

 Father, grant to keep and guide me
 Through the moments of the day.
 Let me know Thou art beside me,
 That no evil can betide me
 In my work or play.

 Teach my hands some good endeavor
 While the golden hours shall run,
 Something that will last forever
 Let me bring to Thee, the Giver,
 E’er the day is done.

 When at last the sun is wending
 Down the sloping West,
 And the evening shades descending
 Tell the world the day is ending,
 Watch above my rest.




 Old-Fashioned Pictures (1927)

 The old plush-covered album
 Upon the parlor stand
 Is but a distant country,
 A half-forgotten land
 Inhabited by people
 Strong as the sturdy oaks,
 Firm as the hills they conquered,
 --The dear old-fashioned folks.

 Look at the honest faces,
 The quaint and homely dress,
 The strained and studied postures
 That once spelled loveliness.
 Look at the solemn features.
 They put away their jokes
 To have their pictures taken
 --The dear old-fashioned folks.

 They carved trails through the forests.
 They seeded down the soil.
 They built the busy cities
 By unremitting toil.
 They laid the firm foundations,
 By honest, manly strokes,
 On which we build the future.
 --The dear old-fashioned folks.




 The Problem (1927)

 THOU God of little children,
 And Parent of us all,
 Who knowest all our struggles,
 And hearest every call,
 Disclose to us the secret,
 And tell us what to do
 To keep our children little
 And have them grow up, too.

 We treasure the devotion,
 The little velvet hands,
 The tender little greetings
 Love always understands;
 And yet we want them coming
 To strength and prospects new.
 How can we keep them little
 And have them grow up, too?

[Illustration of a young girl looking at a distant castle. She’s
standing next to a tree that frames the right and top. Her feet, in
heels, stand in the midst of scattered leaves. Her skirt and scarf wave
in the breeze coming from the castle’s direction. The middle ground is
rolling hills. The sky behind the castle has billowing clouds. Art
piece is signed “Harvey Fuller.”]




 The Pupil (1927)

 A father’s highest vision,
 A mother’s fondest prayer
 Are centered in the future
 Of that wee fellow there.
 They roused him from his slumber,
 And dressed him in his best.
 They sent him out, and trusted
 That you would do the rest.

 The weary planet needs him,
 And patiently will wait
 For him to bring his service
 Down to the future’s gate.
 He is the hope it treasures.
 It wants him strong and true.
 It sends him to your classroom,
 And leaves the rest to you.




 Requisition (1927)

 Give me a quiet road to take
 Where roses deign to grow.
 Where sunbeams fall, and robins wake,
 And trees their shadows throw.

 Give me a little place to try
 To do my human part,
 And make my work as days go by
 A picture of my heart.

 Give me a hearth where I may be
 When twilight shrouds the West,
 With dear ones there to sit with me,
 And you may have the rest.




 Sanctuary (1927)

 GOD has a place, and it is never far,
   Where reach vast arches over golden gates,
 Where quiet aisles and vaulted ceilings are,
   And where a spacious altar always waits;
 A place where weary souls may freely come,
   Hearts torn by earth’s sharp thorns a refuge find,
 Sad, lonely spirits feel again at home,
   And all find rest and balm for heart and mind.

 It is a house of walls not made with hands.
   None sees it save the broken child of care.
 In every place of woe and need it stands,
   Wherever sorrow dares to breathe a prayer.
 The weakest, poorest, farthest spirit, tried
   By grim pursuers of defeat and pain,
 May claim its shelter. Then when tears are dried
   It waits in silence till they fall again.




 The Secret (1927)

 OLD Uncle John is a success,
 And all his efforts have not hit it.
 One day we asked him to confess,
 To all of us just how he did it.
 “I hardly know, myself,” said he,
 “But my conviction still is growing,
 That there’s no fancy recipe.
 You just begin--and keep on going.”

 “Don’t wait for things to come just right,
 For very seldom do they do it.
 Select a road, then day and night,
 Through storm and sunshine, still pursue it.
 Don’t stand debating what is best.
 The sands of life are swiftly flowing.
 Most any worthy course is blest,
 If you begin--and keep on going.”




 Sight and Faith (1927)

 I WALKED by sight along the sunlit way,
 Through pleasant fields and where the flow’rs were fair.
 By quiet streams, through restful vales it lay,
 And loveliness and joy were everywhere.
 I walked by sight, so confident my soul,
 Nor dreamed that it would ever diff’rent be,
 As I moved onward to the shining goal
 That through the distance seemed so clear to me.

 But lo, there came the hour when dusk increased,
 And sunset slowly faded into night,
 As hour by hour the strength of vision ceased,
 And I no more could make my way by sight.
 But when the day had failed to shadows dim,
 Without a star to lend a flickering ray,
 I took God’s hand and travelled on with Him,
 And sudden glory flooded all my way.




 Starting Things (1927)

 THE ghost of Father Gutenberg
 Came back upon a visit.
 He saw a modern printing press,
 And cried, “Good sakes, what is it?”
 He saw a linotype at work
 On endless composition,
 And said, “It must be that my mind
 Is not in good condition.”

 He heard the newsboys hawk their wares,
 And saw the bookstores busy,
 Found magazines on every stand
 Until it made him dizzy.
 He said, “Whoever could have thought
 All this I was imparting?
 One never guesses, after all,
 How much he may be starting.”




 Success (1927)

 SUCCESS is not the garnering of gold
 Wrung from the failing grasp of nerveless hands,
 Nor grim advantage where are bought and sold
 The cargoes of the fleets from distant lands.
 It is not deafness to the anguished cry
 Of blighting poverty or bitter need,
 Nor a triumphal march to victory
 Over pale lips and human hearts that bleed.

 Success is living to the full each hour,
 Finding the richness of the joy it brings,
 Leaving unheard no song, unseen no flower,
 Unfelt no throbbing loveliness of things.
 Success is soothing human hearts that ache
 Breathing new hope into despairing ears,
 Serving with willing hands for love’s dear sake,
 And sowing happiness across the years.




 The Bantams (1928)

 We have got a bantam rooster with a funny little face,
 And he tells us by his swagger that he thinks he owns the place.
 He will lord it o’er the chickens with a mien and manner high,
 And the strangest thing about it is he generally gets by.
 We have Brahams, Rocks, and Cochins--big and strong and robust, all;
 But they let this bantam run the place because he has the gall.
 Big and lazy and good-natured, they seek out a shady spot,
 Nor dispute the bold assumption of his right to rule the lot.

 And sometimes I think the whole world is a barnyard, wide and vast.
 With the selfsame situation, as the ages hurry past.
 People big and strong and able take the smooth and easy way,
 While the fussy little fellows feather in and win the day.
 Singular, at least, I call it that so oft the crown is worn.
 By some self-elected demagogue, so oft the scepter borne,
 Not by some one with the vision a commanding swath to cut,
 But some cocky little bantam who was born to preen and strut.




 Charge Account (1928)

 YOU may think you are getting by. You may get by awhile.
 But do not snap your fingers in the face of Fate and smile.
 Although she may not now demand of you the full amount,
 Some day you will discover that she keeps a charge account.

 She never quarrels with us nor bestows unseemly looks,
 But no one ever yet has found an error in her books.
 She writes down every item very quietly, but still
 There certainly will come a day when she presents her bill.

 She asks no more than is her due, for Fate is always square.
 No tradesman yet in all the world has ever been more fair.
 Good business methods, that is all. There is no other way.
 You may get by awhile, my friend, but some day you will pay.




 The Close-Up (1928)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 There are many angel faces,
 Viewed from places far away,
 Which, upon a near vision,
 Very quickly turn to clay.
 There are many matchless heroes
 Who can hold us in their spell,
 But who fade away to weakness
 When we really know them well.

 There are many hissing villians
 Who, on closer view, are found
 To possess a kindly spirit
 And an honor quite profound.
 So it runs throughout the picture,
 As it probably is best,
 That the close-up tells the story
 Whether one can meet the test.




 Coming and Going (1928)

 I GO down when the train comes in,
   No matter what the day,
 Where some arrive amid the din,
   And others go away.

 I see glad faces looking down
   The track that rambles on
 Far from the quiet little town,
   Impatient to be gone.

 But oh, the eyes most full of mirth
   I see upon the train
 Have seen the wonders of the earth
   And then come home again.

 Blest is the road that leads away
   Where restless ones may roam;
 But each loves best of all, one day,
   The road that leads back home.

 Ambition makes us all to dare
   The far, intriguing track;
 But when we’ve had enough of care
   The heart will bring us back.




 The Day’s Success (1928)

 When sunset falls upon your day
   And fades from out the West.
 When business cares are put away
   And you lie down to rest,
 The measures of the day’s success
   Or failure will be told
 In terms of human happiness
   And not in terms of gold.

 Is there beside some hearth tonight
   More joy because you wrought?
 Does someone face the bitter strife
   With courage you have taught?
 Is something added to the store
   Of human happiness?
 If so, the day that now is o’er
   Has been a real success.




 The Earth’s Plaint (1928)

 From ages immemorial they’ve scratched my patient face
 With plow, and pick, and shovel, in all confidence and grace.
 They’ve dug their springs, and sunk their wells, and made their post holes, too,
 Wherever it has pleased their passing fancy so to do.
 But here of late they seem to feel that more is wrong with me
 Than to the specialists who came at first there seemed to be.
 They’ve stopped the minor surgery--it seemed to be too light
 --And started on a major scale to set my system right.

 They sink a shaft a solid mile through rock, and sand, and clay.
 They go right into it with drills and bore the livelong day.
 They cut a tunnel through a hill, and make the two ends fit.
 They chop away as though they thought it didn’t hurt a bit.
 They change the course of rivers and the shape of waterfalls.
 They dig deep excavations for their bridges and their walls.
 A major operation of some kind has come to be
 A kind of daily diet, in these latter days, with me.

[Poem is surrounded by photos of earth-working equipment in action
around the world (clockwise from top-right corner): Egypt, New Zealand,
Formosa, Chile, Rhodesia, Sicily, Dutch East Indies, Honduras, Ireland,
Nigeria, India, and U.S.A.]




 Evolution (1928)

 A shining automobile
   Was standing at the curb.
 A glib and crafty salesman
   Was handing out his blurb.
 A bicycle was leaning
   Its well-worn handle bar
 Against a post--the early
   Ancestor of the car.

 Then, snorting down the pavement,
   A motorcycle flew,
 Pausing between the cycle
   And car so bright and new.
 “Aha,” the auto whispered,
   “I have evolved, I think,
 From that bicycle yonder,
   And here’s the missing link.”




 Faith v1928

 If you cast out
   Into the outer darkness of your mind
 All about which you can conceive a doubt,
 Or find some strange and vain excuse to flout,
   Or charge to ages credulous and blind,
 All about which the whole world is not sure,
 My friend, you will be pitifully poor.

 If your faith clings
   To all the good, and beautiful, and right,
 That the experience of ages brings,
 And offers as the necessary things
   That stand forever by truth’s simple might,
 Believing each till it is found untrue,
 The heart’s unmeasured riches are for you.




 Freedom v1928

 Freedom to make the sturdy climb
 From sodden depths to heights sublime;
 Freedom to seek Truth’s ready aid
 In mastering a chosen trade;
 Freedom to play an honest part,
 And make some worthy work an art;
 Freedom to struggle with a smile--
 That is the freedom worth the while.

 Freedom to keep a heart that sings
 Amid the fret and drive of things;
 Freedom to serve with heart, and mind,
 And hand, the races of mankind;
 Freedom to meet the fiercest test
 Knowing that one has done his best;
 Freedom to trudge the upward mile--
 That is the freedom worth the while.




 The Harness (1928)

 “What means all this mass of wiring?”
 Asked the visitor from Mars.
 “We have nothing that is like it
 In our section of the stars.
 All these conduits and cables,
 This machinery that sings
 With its whirring wheels and motors
 --What have they to do with things?”

 “Very much,” the earth-child answered.
 “We’ve a giant, all unseen,
 Who serves every little household,
 Every factory and machine,
 Does our work, transports our people,
 Friendship’s kindly message bears.
 All this wiring you have noted
 Is the harness that he wears.”




 His Great Hour (1928)

 He headed the procession
 On many a parade.
 He heard the ringing echoes
 Where loud applause was made.
 But naught has ever equalled
 The time in early youth
 When first his folks discovered
 That he had cut a tooth.

 He published learned volumes
 And speeches made galore.
 He traveled and was feted
 The land and ocean o’er.
 But never was the hero
 So praised and sung, forsooth,
 As on that vanished midnight
 When first he cut a tooth.

[Illustration of a heart overlaid with a young child. The child sits
with legs straight out in front, right hand near mouth, and left hand
holding what appears to be a rattle.]




 “I held a sea shell to my ears” (1928)

 I held a sea shell to my ears
 A little while today,
 And heard the echo of the years
 Sounding from far away.
 I heard ten thousand soft good-byes
 To hearts that needs must roam,
 Ten thousand weekly muffled cries
 For ships that came not home.

 I heard the story of the dreams
 Of those who journeyed far,
 But brought not back Wealth’s shining gleams
 To the home harbor bar.
 I heard the story of the brave
 Who Freedom’s burdens bore,
 Who fought their battles on the wave
 But struggle now no more.




 Imminence (1928)

 Like to the circuit of a bright day’s glory,
   Like to a shadow moving on the grass,
 Like to the telling of an evening story,
   God’s purposes all shortly come to pass.

 Like to the nearness of a dewdrop’s brushing,
   Like to the nearness of a breath of May,
 Like to the nearness of a wind uprushing,
   God’s promised kingdom is not far away.

 Like to the vastness of the stars’ swift motion,
   Like to the vastness of the course they swing,
 Like to the vastness of a shoreless ocean,
   God’s love is here enfolding everything.




 Iron (1928)

 A piece of iron was refined
 By highest skill of hand and mind,
 To steel that formed the keenest blade,
 Or instruments of wonder made,
 Or strings awaking symphonies
 From far across the centuries.

 Another piece lay dull and dead
 As days of hope and wonder sped.
 It felt no prompting of desire
 For the refiner’s purging fire.
 Passive it lay, nor ever wist
 The thrill and gladness it had missed.

 I speak no word of praise or blame.
 I only say it is a shame
 That metal, made for wondrous things,
 Keen instruments, responsive strings,
 Should be, its aspiration spent,
 Arrested in development.




 I Want (1928)

 I WANT a deep mine where the gold knows no measure,
   A house with the widest and rarest of rooms,
 Replete with the objects of beauty and pleasure,
   With tapestries done on the finest of looms.
 I want a great fleet that will compass the ocean,
   And bring me the choicest of all the world’s store.
 I want a cortege, with the deepest devotion
   Performing my bidding, my wishes--and more.

 I want a position of pow’r and of splendor,
   An empire to rule with the will of a king.
 I want the rich tribute that vassals can render,
   The praise that the lips of the loyal can bring.
 I want earth’s delights without limit or curbing,
   The richest that skill can conceive or design.
 One question alone is a little disturbing--
   Just what shall I do with them when they are mine?




 The Lucky Man (1928)

 He struggled on and upward,
    Impelled by high ambition.
 He bent his strongest efforts
    To better his condition.
 He paid the price of labor,
    As others had before him.
 A rich and bounteous harvest
    His earnest efforts bore him.

 Two loafers were exchanging
    Their shallow talk one morning,
 Their conversation ranging
    From filthiness to scorning.
 He passed. One said: “There’s Sweezy.
    My way was always rocky.
 But some folks have it easy.
    That fellow sure is lucky.”




 Success and Failure (1928)

 Whoever builds a mighty name
 And fills the country with his fame,
 Who seeks and uses earthly power
 To make a stately triumph hour,
 Who rears a mansion rich and high
 To frown against the kindly sky,
 If he has not found happiness
 Is still a failure none the less.

 Whoever dwells in humble walls
 Where only toilsome care befalls,
 Who plans when dear ones are in bed
 Where shall be found to-morrow’s bread,
 To cheer whose heart Life only brings
 The humble joy of simple things,
 If happiness has crowned his name,
 He is successful just the same.




 The Trouble with the Movies (1928)
 [Transcriber’s note: All verses are italicized.]

 The trouble with the movies,
 As it appears to me,
 Is not what the wise people
 About me seem to see.
 But I do raise objection
 In accents bold and high
 To one outstanding evil
 The waste of custard pie.

 If all that precious pastry
 Thrown with such ready grace,
 Such technique and precision,
 At some poor fellow’s face,
 Were gathered all together
 For my convenience, I
 Would just retire from labor
 And live on custard pie.




 Walking with God (1928)

 WHO walks with God must take his way
 Across far distances and gray
 To goals that others do not see,
 Where others do not care to be.
 Who walks with God must have no fear
 When danger and defeat appear,
 Nor stop when every hope seems gone,
 For God, our God, moves ever on.

 Who walks with God must press ahead
 When sun or cloud is overhead,
 When all the waiting thousands cheer,
 Or when they only stop to sneer;
 When all the challenge leaves the hours
 And naught is left but jaded powers.
 But he will some day reach the dawn,
 For God, our God, moves ever on.




 Wander Lust (1928)

 “I want to go away somewhere,”
 Cries every human heart of care.
 “I want to go across the sea,
 And find a place where hearts are free.
 I want to look at bluer skies,
 And stand where higher mountains rise.
 To tropic scene, to arctic snow,
 I want to go, I want to go.”

 And so we take our varied ways
 Across the miles and through the days.
 We see the wonders of the earth.
 We share its sorrow and its mirth.
 Time sends its snows upon our hair.
 We stumble with our loads of care.
 Then one day sounds a broken cry:
 “Please, won’t you take me home to die?”




 The Divine Image (1929)

 Something within me makes me love the roses;
   Something within me makes me search the sky;
 Something within me makes me roam the meadows;
   The woodlands where the trees are still and high.
 Something within me makes me sit at twilight
   Enraptured with the starlight on the sod;
 Something within me thrills at lovely music,
   That something in me makes me kin to God.

 Something within me makes me like the brothers
   Who share with me the path that I must tread;
 Something within me wakens hope and longing
   To struggle on to summits far ahead.
 Something within me keeps me ever dreaming
   Of heavenly things amid the thorn and clod;
 Something within me speaks of light and beauty,
   That something in me makes me kin to God.




 Domsie (1929)

 Simple his habit, plain his wonted ration,
 Humble the roof that sheltered him at night.
 He sought no preferment of rank or station,
 Save but to be a bearer of the light.
 He dreamed out futures for the boys before him,
 And led them ever onward toward the goal.
 The heights they won the choicest gladness bore him
 Whose faces were enshrined within his soul.

 In many a countryside and distant city
 Were lived strong lives to which the light he gave.
 Strong hearts beat and strong hands were reached in pity
 He taught to bless, to brighten, and to save.
 Upon a quiet hillside he is sleeping,
 Content to rest, the final school day o’er,
 But everywhere his boys the faith are keeping.
 They hold his torch aloft forevermore.




 The Happy Ending (1929)

 I LIKE to read a stirring tale of peril and of action.
 I follow every character with heartfelt satisfaction.
 If, truth and error, right and wrong, defeat and triumph blending,
 The story rambles steadily toward a happy ending.

 No matter what vicissitudes the hero strong engages,
 No matter how the conflict runs across the crowded pages,
 If at the close all comes out right, with every wrong defeated,
 Each happy dream at last come true, each worthy task completed.

 They tell me it is not the style in these days so to write it.
 The proper thing, they say, is with a smirch of wrong to blight it,
 To leave the tears unwiped, the wrong unrighted, and the error
 Unbanished in the general reign of trouble and of terror.

 But I still have the faith to cling to childhood’s deep conviction
 That somehow justice does get done in life as well as fiction,
 That there is more of right than wrong, of pleasure than of weeping,
 And that a kindly Providence still has us in its keeping.

 I think when all the years are through the world’s heart will be singing,
 That bells of bounding happiness will everywhere be ringing,
 And the great Author of the tale of life, His mercy lending,
 Will bring the story of the world down to a happy ending.

[Illustration of an armored knight riding a galloping horse and holding
a woman seated in front of him. The knight’s right hand holds a long
staff tipped with a small flag, while his left hand secures the woman.
His cape flaps in the wind. The horse is dressed with coverings from
head to hind quarters. They are centered in the frame with a billowing
cloud rising behind them. The lower-right part of the frame has nearby
vegetation. The upper-left part has a castle on a hill a small distance
away. The artwork has a printed signature, but the stylized last letter
of the last name is uncertain; an “R” would complete the name “Stanley
Hunter.”]




 Have You Tried? (1929)

 Are you sure you cannot do it?
 Are you really satisfied
 That you never can go through it?
 Have you tried?

 Do a thousand doubts assail you
 With their darts from every side
 Till your hope and courage fail you?
 Have you tried?

 Have you ceased to dream of winning?
 Have your expectations died?
 Have you really had your inning?
 Have you tried?




 Memorial Day v1929
 Exodus 12:14. “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial.”

 Their drums are still. Their banners all are furled.
   They feel no more the battle’s fiery breath.
 Theirs is the vastest army in the world,
   Encamped upon the silent fields of death.

 Of peace and happiness they paid the price.
   Their Via Dolorosa did they tread.
 They climbed the Calvary of sacrifice,
   And found a place among the mighty dead.

 The years roll on, but as they pass away
   Let not this tender memory grow old.
 By the sweet, smiling blossoms of the May
   Let their fair story be forever told.




 The Modern Pupil (1929)

 I’ve had a new school teacher
 Now for a week or two.
 She seems to be quite clever,
 And knows her subject, too.
 She’s pleasant and attractive,
 As far as I can tell.
 There’s just one trouble with her.
 She doesn’t mind me well.

 In fact, she has a notion,
 Saved from a former day,
 That things about the schoolroom
 Should go the other way.
 And so the one objection
 That any one could find
 Is insubordination.
 I cannot make her mind.




 My Little Fire (1929)

 My little fire is cheerful,
 Unchanging in its grace.
 Whatever be the weather,
 It keeps a shining face.

 It always has a welcome
 For such as seek its hearth,
 Afar from all the struggles
 And strivings of the earth.

 It seems so understanding.
 When ill has gone the day
 And I recount my troubles,
 It laughs them all away.

 So I forget the fever
 Of false and vain desire,
 And find that life is blessed
 Beside my little fire.

[Illustration of a man seated in front of hearth. He’s dressed in suit
and tie, smiling, and bent forward resting his elbows on his thighs.
The left hand holds long tongs pointed at the fire, and his chin rests
in his right hand. The hearth’s grate has two owl-shaped decorations,
and a log carrier with extra logs sits nearby. A plant is on the
mantle. The background has a window--drape open--decorated with a
wreath. A candelabrum with five lit candles is in front of the window,
and both ends are flanked by a candlestick with a lit candle. The
artist’s cursive signature makes the name uncertain.]




 Thankfulness (1929)

 I HEARD a tiny sound to-day.
 The flowers all had stopped to pray.
 Lily, and rose, and goldenrod
 And violet were thanking God.
 For what? The sun, and rain, and dew,
 That had not failed the season through,
 The soil, the winds with their caress;
 And simple daily happiness.

 I blushed, whose thought had found no wings
 To thank God for the simple things.
 No sudden fortune had bestowed
 On me a rich and golden load.
 But I had known the rain, the sun,
 Shelter and rest when day was done,
 Raiment, and food, and happy hours.
 I was less thankful than the flowers.




 “Whatever he may wish or plan” (1929)

 Whatever he may wish or plan,
 Three things will make or break a man:
 The work to which he gives his hand,
 To make a living in the land.
 The friends to whom his heart gives toll,
 Whose shadows fall across his soul.
 The goal by which through toil and strife
 He gives direction to his life.




APPENDIX 1: BYLINES, BIBLIOGRAPHY, NOTES


After-Images. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 23 No. 6. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Jul 1922. p. 7. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Age of a Heart. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 15 No. 1. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Jan 1925. p. 37. Note: Illustrated dropped initial in first verse
    normalized for e-readers.

Almost. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Princeton, Ind. Source: _The
    Christian Advocate_. Vol. 97 No. 39. New York: The Methodist Book
    Concern, Sep 28, 1922. p. 1211

Along the Road. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Miami Daily
    Metropolis_. Vol. 27 No. 161. Miami, FL: Metropolis Publishing Co.,
    Jun 17, 1922. p. 6

The Bantams. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Northwest Poultry
    Journal_. Vol. 33 No. 6. Salem, OR: Northwest Poultry Journal
    Publishing Co., Jun 1928. p. 15. Note: Title’s case changed from
    all caps.

Battle Hymn. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Western Christian
    Advocate_. Vol. 80 No. 17. Cincinnati: Methodist Book Concern,
    Apr 29, 1914. p. 524

Brotherhood. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Boys’ World_.
    Vol. 23 No. 12. Elgin, IL: David C. Cook Publishing Co., Mar 22,
    1924. p. 4. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps and its period
    removed.

The Builder v1924. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Juvenile
    Instructor_. Vol. 59 No. 8. Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School
    Union, Aug 1924. p. 411. Note: Stanzas’ original layout of 
    side-by-side is presented in this compilation as follows: left
    stanza as first stanza, right as second.

The Builders. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday School
    Journal_. Vol. 53 No. 8. Cincinnati: The Methodist Book Concern,
    Aug 1921. Cover page

The Chameleon. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Commonweal_.
    Vol. 5 No. 4. New York: Calvert Publishing Corp., Dec 1, 1926.
    p. 105

Charge Account. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 18 No. 1. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Jan 1928. p. 7. Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

Childhood on the Farm. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Hoard’s
    Dairyman_. Vol. 67 No. 9. Fort Atkinson, WI: W. D. Hoard & Sons Co.,
    Mar 14, 1924. p. 332

The Children v1921. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Christian
    Herald_. Vol. 44 No. 32. New York: Christian Herald, Aug 6, 1921.
    p. 546. Notes: 1) Dropped initial in first verse normalized for
    e-readers, 2) Extra spaces in body of poem were deleted.

The Children v1925. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Pathfinder_. Vol. 32 No. 1668. Washington D.C.: Pathfinder
    Publishing Co., Dec 19, 1925. p. 21. Note: Title’s case changed
    from all caps.

Child’s Prayer. Byline: Clarence Edwin Flynn. Richmond, Ind. Source:
    _The Epworth Era. _Vol. 17 No. 32. Chicago: Jennings & Graham,
    Jan 5, 1907. p. 830. Note: Stanzas’ original layout of 2x2 is
    presented in this compilation as follows: top-left stanza as first
    stanza, bottom-left as second, top-right as third and bottom-right
    as fourth.

The City’s Nerves. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Edison
    Monthly_. Vol. 18 No. 6. New York: The New York Edison Co.,
    Jun 1926. p. 143

Climaxes v1921. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 22 No. 11. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Dec 1921. p. 93. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Climaxes v1923. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 26 No. 1. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Aug 1923. pp. 41, 86. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Clock. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Beacon_. Vol. 14
    No. 26. Boston: The Beacon Press, Inc., Mar 30, 1924. p. 111. Note:
    Dropped initial in first verse normalized for e-readers.

The Close-Up. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Movie Makers_. Vol. 3
    No. 6. New York: Amateur Cinema League, Inc., Jun 1928. p. 397.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps and its period removed.

Coming and Going. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _New York Central
    Lines Magazine_. Vol. 9 No. 3. New York: New York Central Lines,
    Jun 1928. p. 14. Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

Compensation. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Princeton, Ind. Source:
    _The Christian Advocate_. Vol. 97 No. 41. New York: The Methodist
    Book Concern, Oct 12, 1922. p. 1273

The Creator. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sedalia Democrat_.
    Vol. 17 No. 40. Sedalia, MO: Sedalia Democrat Co., Feb 15, 1923.
    p. 2. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps and its
    period removed.

Credo. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _North Carolina Christian
    Advocate_. Vol. 70 No. 46. Greensboro, NC: Nov 12, 1925. p. 8.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

A Creed. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Christian Century_.
    Vol. 39 No. 7. Chicago: Disciples Publication Society, Feb 16 1922.
    p.200

The Cross v1927. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Expositor_.
    Vol. 28 No. 6. Cleveland: F. M. Barton Co., Mar 1927. p. 710.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Cry of a Human. Byline: Clarence Flynn. Source: _Richmond Daily
    Palladium_. Richmond, IN: Palladium Printing Co., Mar 5, 1906. p. 3.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps and its period removed.

Cupid’s Lament. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Edison
    Monthly_. Vol. 19 No. 5. New York: The New York Edison Co.,
    May 1927. p. 105. Note: Stanzas’ original layout of side-by-side is
    presented in this compilation as follows: left stanza as first
    stanza, right as second.

A Day at a Time. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sanford
    Herald_. Vol. 17 No. 20. Sanford, FL: Apr 7, 1927. p. 4. Note:
    Duplicate “at” (A day at at time) in second verse replaced
    with “a”.

The Day’s Success. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Carp
    Review_. Vol. 24 No. 30. Carp, Ontario: James A. Evoy, Aug 16, 1928.
    p. 8. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps and its period
    removed, 2) Apostrophe removed from “measure’s” in fifth verse,
    3) Comma removed after “failure” in sixth verse.

The Divine Image. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Grade
    Teacher_. Vol. 46 No. 9. Boston: Educational Publishing Corp.,
    May 1929. p. 745

Doing It Well. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Child Welfare
    Magazine_. Vol. 20 No. 7. Philadelphia: The Child Welfare Co., Inc.,
    Mar 1926. p. 438. Notes: 1) Dropped initial in first verse
    normalized for e-readers, 2) E-readers might not correctly present
    “saw” in first verse with small caps, which is used for emphasis.

Domsie. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The American School Board
    Journal_. Vol. 78 No. 2. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., Feb 1929.
    p. 174. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps, 2) The poem
    might be referring to a character in Ian Maclaren’s _Beside the
    Bonnie Brier Bush_ (1894).

The Dream. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Bloomington, Ind. Source:
    _Christian Advocate_. Vol. 85 No. 44. Nashville: Lamar & Barton,
    Oct 31, 1924. p. 1388. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps and
    its period removed.

The Earth’s Plaint. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Excavating
    Engineer_. Vol. 22 No. 6. Milwaukee: The Excavating Engineer
    Publishing Co., Jun 1928. p. 212. Note: Title’s case changed from
    all caps.

An Easter Vision. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sedalia
    Democrat_. Vol. 17 No. 98. Sedalia, MO: Sedalia Democrat Co.,
    Apr 23, 1924. p. 2. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps
    and its period removed, 2) Two-space indentation of second stanza’s
    first verse was deleted.

Electricity. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Edison Monthly_.
    Vol. 15 No. 5. New York: The New York Edison Co., May 1923. p. 107

An Electric Personality. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Edison
    Monthly_. Vol. 15 No. 7. New York: The New York Edison Co.,
    Jul 1923. p. 148

The Electric Spark. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Beacon_.
    Vol. 14 No. 23. Boston: The Beacon Press, Inc., Mar 9, 1924. p. 99.
    Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized for e-readers.

The End of the Trail. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Liahona: The
    Elders’ Journal_. Vol. 21 No. 3. Independence, MO: Zion’s Printing
    and Publishing Co., Jul 31, 1923. p. 49. [Published earlier in
    _Oakland Tribune_ (May 31, 1923) but without a title and partly
    illegible.] Note: Title’s case changed from all caps and its
    period removed.

The Engineer. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _New York Central
    Lines Magazine_. Vol. 3 No. 9. New York: New York Central Lines Co.,
    Dec 1922. p. 55. Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

Enslaved Lightning. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Edison
    Monthly_. Vol. 18 No. 7. New York: The New York Edison Co.,
    Jul 1926. p. 167

Evolution. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American Motorcyclist
    and Bicyclist_. Vol. 24 No. 11. New York City: The Cycling Press
    Inc., Nov 1928. p. 27. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Fabulous City. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Commercial Law
    League Journal_. Vol. 30 No. 1. Chicago: Commercial Law League of
    America, Jan 1925. p. 29. Notes: 1) Editor prefaces the poem under
    the section title, “FORTUNES MADE IN OIL”: “The arrest, trial,
    conviction and commitment to the penitentiary of the super oil
    swindler, Leo Koretz, calls to our mind the following poem:”,
    2) Title’s case changed from all caps.

Fade-Outs. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 26 No. 6. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Jan 1924. p. 84. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Faith v1928. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Congregationalist_.
    Vol. 113 No. 5. Boston: Congregational Publishing Society, Feb 2,
    1928. p. 142

Film Judgment. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 27 No. 5. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Jun 1924. p. 109. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Finding God. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Freeman’s Journal_.
    Vol. 74. Sydney, Australia: Herbert Daniel Polin, Oct 2, 1924. p. 3.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps and its period removed.

The Firefly. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Boys’ World_.
    Vol. 23 No. 23. Elgin, IL: David C. Cook Publishing Co., Jun 7,
    1924. p. 8. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps and its
    period removed.

The Flag at Sea. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Our Navy_. Vol. 16
    No. 13. Washington D. C.: Men o’ Warsmen Inc., Oct 14, 1922. p. 2.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Flowers Are Thoughts of God. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Progressive Farmer_. Raleigh, NC: The Progressive Farmer Co.,
    Jul 3, 1926. p. 733. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Freedom v1928. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 18 No. 10. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Oct 1928. p. 230

The Future. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The 
    Kindergarten-Primary Magazine_. Vol. 39 No. 3. Manistee, MI: 
    J. H. Shults Co., Jan–Feb 1927. p. 69. Note: Title’s case changed
    from all caps.

The Gateway of the Kingdom. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Sunday School Times_. Vol. 57 No. 29. Philadelphia: The Sunday
    School Times Co., Jul 17, 1915. p. 1. Note: Dropped initial in
    first verse normalized for e-readers.

The Gift of the Farm. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Farm Life_.
    Vol. 41 No. 5. Spencer, IN: Farm Life Publishing Co., May 1922.
    p. 25

The Gifts of the Church. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Princeton, India.
    Source: _The Congregationalist_. Vol. 107 No. 49. Boston:
    Congregational Publishing Society, Dec 7, 1922. p. 736. Note:
    Stanzas’ original layout of side-by-side is presented in this
    compilation as follows: left stanza as first stanza,
    right as second.

The God of the Beginning. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Church School_. Vol. 5 No. 11. New York: The Church School Press,
    Aug 1924. p. 491. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps,
    2) Stanzas’ original layout of side-by-side is presented in this
    compilation as follows: left stanza as first stanza, right as
    second, 3) Dropped initial in first verse of both stanzas
    normalized for e-readers.

God of To-Day. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday School
    Journal_. Vol. 54 No. 11. Cincinnati: The Methodist Book Concern,
    Nov 1922. p. 656. Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

God’s Garden. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday School
    Journal_. Vol. 52 No. 7. Cincinnati: Methodist Book Concern,
    Jul 1920. p. 407

God’s Manners. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Baptist Record_.
    Vol. 49 (old series) 29 (new series) No. 9. Jackson, MS: Mississippi
    Baptist Convention Board, Mar 3, 1927. p. 11. Note: Title’s case
    changed from all caps.

A Grace for Meals. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Girls’
    Companion_. Vol. 25 No. 28. Elgin, IL: David C. Cook Publishing Co.,
    Jul 10, 1926. p. 7. Note: Title’s period removed.

The Great Adventure. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Uplift_.
    Vol. 15 No. 4. Concord, NC: Stonewall Jackson Manual Training and
    Industrial School, Jan 8, 1927. p. 17. Note: Title’s case changed
    from all caps and its period removed.

The Grey Host. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Congregationalist_. Vol. 111 No. 44. Boston: Congregational
    Publishing Society, Nov 4, 1926. p. 589

Hagar’s Song. Byline: Clarence Flynn. Bloomfield, Ind. Source: _Western
    Christian Advocate_. Vol. 72 No. 11. Cincinnati: Western Methodist
    Book Concern, Mar 14, 1906. p. 13. Note: For context see
    Genesis 16, 21:1–20.

The Happy Ending. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Youth_. Vol. 3
    No. 8. Kansas City, MO: Unity School of Christianity, Aug 1929.
    pp. 14–15. Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

The Harness. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Edison Monthly_.
    Vol. 20 No. 11. New York: The New York Edison Co., Nov 1928. p. 260

Have You Tried? Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 19 No. 11. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Nov 1929. p. 251

Heart Gates. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Herald of Gospel
    Liberty_. Vol. 118 No. 43. Dayton, OH: The Christian Publishing
    Association, Oct 28, 1926. p. 1018. Note: For context of first
    stanza consider Revelation 21:9–27.

The Heart of a Child. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Kindergarten-Primary Magazine_. Vol. 39 No. 3. Manistee, MI: J. H.
    Shults Co., Jan–Feb 1927. p. 72. Note: Title’s case changed
    from all caps.

The Heart of a Child Is a Scroll. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source:
    _The Sunday School Journal_. Vol. 54 No. 8. Cincinnati: The
    Methodist Book Concern, Aug 1922. p. 473. Note: Dropped initial in
    first verse normalized for e-readers.

The High Tension Line. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Edison
    Monthly_. Vol. 18 No. 4. New York: The New York Edison Co.,
    Apr 1926. p. 92. Note: For examples of context of last stanza
    consider Mark 16:14–18 and Acts 3:1–10.

His Epitaph. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Our Dumb Animals_.
    Vol. 55 No. 3. Norwood, MA: Massachusetts Society for the Prevention
    of Cruelty to Animals, Aug 1922. p. 45. Notes: 1) Title’s case
    changed from all caps, 2) Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

His Great Hour. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Oral Hygiene_.
    Vol. 18 No. 11. Pittsburgh: Nov 1928. p. 2122

Home v1921. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American Messenger_.
    Vol. 79 No. 9. New York: American Tract Society, Oct 1921. p. 172

Home v1925. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _South Florida
    Developer_. Vol. 5 No. 33. Stuart, FL: South Florida Developer,
    Inc., May 12, 1925. p. 6. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Hope. Byline: Clarence Edwin Flynn. Greencastle, Ind. Source: _The
    Christian Advocate_. Vol. 84 No. 43. New York: Eaton & Mains,
    Oct 28, 1909. p. 1706

How It Started. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 17 No. 12. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Dec 1927. p. 277. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps,
    2) Dropped initial in first verse normalized for e-readers.

“I am not eloquent”. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Expositor_. Vol. 28 No. 3. Cleveland: F. M. Barton Co., Dec 1926.
    p. 360. Note: For context see Moses in Exodus 4:10.

If Christ Is Not Divine. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _America_.
    Vol. 29 No. 13. New York: The America Press, Jul 14, 1923. p. 306.
    Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps, 2) For context see
    1 Corinthians 15:12–19.

“I held a sea shell to my ears”. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source:
    _North Carolina Christian Advocate_. Vol. 73 No. 36. Greensboro, NC:
    Sep 6, 1928. p. 20.

Imminence. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _New Orleans Christian
    Advocate_. Vol. 75 No. 40. New Orleans: Publishing Committee for the
    Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Mississippi Conferences,
    Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Oct 4, 1928. p. 11. Note:
    Title’s case changed from all caps and its period removed.

In Conference. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 17 No. 9. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Sep 1927. p.214. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps,
    2) Dropped initial in first verse normalized for e-readers.

Inventive Genius. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 17 No. 2. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Feb 1927. p. 34. Notes: 1) Dropped initial in first verse
    normalized for e-readers, 2) Stanzas’ original layout of
    side-by-side is presented in this compilation as follows: 
    left stanza as first stanza, right as second.

Iron. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal Efficiency_. Vol. 18
    No. 12. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University, Dec 1928. p. 286

I Want. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Youth_. Vol. 2 No. 1. Kansas
    City: Unity School of Christianity, Jan 1928. p. 22. Notes:
    1) Title’s case changed from all caps, 2) Dropped initial in first
    verse normalized for e-readers.

Jim. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Youth’s Companion_. Vol. 93
    No. 44. Boston: Perry Mason Co., Oct 30, 1919. p. 612. Note:
    Stanzas’ original layout of 1-over-2 is presented in this
    compilation as follows: top stanza as first stanza, bottom-left as
    second and bottom-right as third.

Jove’s Plaint. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Edison
    Monthly_. Vol. 16 No. 6. New York: The New York Edison Co.,
    Jun 1924. p. 129

The King. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. De Pauw, ’10. Source: _The Phi
    Gamma Delta_. Vol. 31 No. 4. Indianapolis: Phi Gamma Delta
    Fraternity, Feb 1909. p. 362. Notes: 1) He ended up graduating from
    DePauw in 1911, 2) Title’s case changed from all caps.

Knocking. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal Efficiency_.
    Vol. 16 No. 7. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University, Jul 1926.
    p. 436. Note: Illustrated dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

The Land of Heart’s Desire. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Santa
    Ana Register_. Vol. 19 No. 153. Santa Ana, CA: Register Publishing
    Co., May 26, 1924. p. 18. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Lens. Byline: C. E. Flynn. Source: _Photoplay Magazine_. Vol. 22
    No. 4. Chicago: Photoplay Publishing Co., Sep 1922. p. 109

Let Us Be Right. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Christian
    Sun_. Vol. 71 No. 38. Burlington, NC: Sep 17, 1919. Cover page.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Life. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Congregationalist_.
    Vol. 111 No. 41. Boston: Congregational Publishing Society, Oct 14,
    1926. p. 504. Notes: 1) Removed comma at end of third verse,
    2) Replaced comma with period at end of fourth verse.

Light and Shadow. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Photoplay
    Magazine_. Vol. 16 No. 2. Chicago: Photoplay Publishing Co.,
    Jul 1919. p. 104. Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

The Lucky Man. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 18 No. 11. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Nov 1928. p. 248

Magi and Shepherd. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Indianapolis, Ind.
    Source: _The Christian Advocate_. Vol. 90 No. 51. New York:
    Methodist Book Concern, Dec 23, 1915. p. 1734

The Magic Gateway. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Princeton, Ind. Source:
    _The Christian Advocate_. Vol. 96 No. 48. New York: The Methodist
    Book Concern, Dec 1, 1921. p. 1506

The Magic of the Screen. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Photoplay
    Magazine_. Vol. 21 No. 2. Chicago: Photoplay Publishing Co.,
    Jan 1922. p. 62. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps MAGIC
    and SCREEN, 2) Dropped initial in first verse of both stanzas
    normalized for e-readers.

The Making of Heaven. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Christian
    Century_. Vol. 39 No. 24. Chicago: Disciples Publication Society,
    Jun 15, 1922. p. 745

The Making of Home. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Box 97, Bloomington,
    Ind. Source: _The Railway Maintenance of Way Employes Journal_.
    Vol. 32 No. 10. Detroit: Oct 1923. p. 11. Note: “Employes” in
    publication title is as printed.

The Man Who Knows. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Princeton, Ind. Source:
    _The Christian Advocate_. Vol. 97 No. 36. New York: The Methodist
    Book Concern, Sep 7, 1922. p. 1110

The Marine. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Our Navy_. Vol. 16
    No. 17. Washington D. C.: Men o’ Warsmen Inc., Dec 15, 1922. p. 2.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Measure of Life. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Indiana
    Farmer’s Guide_. Vol. 34 No. 25. Huntington, IN: The Guide
    Publishing Co., Jun 24, 1922. p. 658. Notes: 1) Title’s case
    changed from all caps and its period removed, 2) Liberty was taken
    with several end-of-line punctuation marks due to source’s
    poor legibility.

Memorial Day v1929. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Expositor_.
    Cleveland: F. M. Barton Co. Inc., May 1929. p. 924. Note: Title’s
    case changed from all caps.

Minds. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal Efficiency_. Vol. 14
    No. 2. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University, Feb 1924. p. 73.
    Note: Illustrated dropped initial in each stanza’s first verse
    normalized for e-readers.

Miracle. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Los Angeles Times_.
    Vol. 43. Los Angeles: The Times-Mirror Co., Jul 13, 1924. p. 37.
    Note: Changes made to punctuation in second stanza for consistency
    with first stanza: comma added to end of first verse, and period
    changed to comma at end of sixth verse.

The Modern Pupil. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The American
    School Board Journal_. Vol. 78 No. 1. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing
    Co., Jan 1929. p. 198. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Monuments. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Textile Worker_.
    Vol. 10 No. 9. New York: United Textile Workers of America,
    Dec 1922. p. 559. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Morning Prayer. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The 
    Kindergarten-Primary Magazine_. Vol. 39 No. 3. Manistee, MI: 
    J. H. Shults Co., Jan–Feb 1927. p. 80. Note: Title’s case 
    changed from all caps.

My Father’s House. Byline: Clarence Edwin Flynn. Source: _Western
    Christian Advocate_. Vol. 74 No. 17. Cincinnati: Western Methodist
    Book Concern, Apr 22, 1908. p. 12

My Little Fire. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American Mutual
    Magazine_. Vol. 9 No. 4. Boston: American Mutual Liability Insurance
    Co., Dec 1929. Back cover. Note: Title’s case changed from
    all caps.

My Riches. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Our Navy_. Vol. 16
    No. 18. Washington D. C.: Men o’ Warsmen Inc., Dec 30, 1922. p. 2.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The New Day. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday School
    Journal_. Vol. 51 No. 3. Cincinnati: The Methodist Book Concern,
    Mar 23, 1919. Cover page. Notes: Title’s case changed from
    all caps.

The New Year. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American Messenger_.
    Vol. 77 No. 1. New York: American Tract Society, Jan 1919. p. 6

No Room in the Inn. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Beacon_.
    Vol. 14 No. 12. Boston: The Beacon Press, Inc., Dec 23, 1923. p. 56.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Old-Fashioned Pictures. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Farm Life_.
    Vol. 46 No. 3. Spencer, IN: Farm Life Publishing Co., Mar 1927. p. 62

The Open Soul. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American Messenger_.
    Vol. 78 No. 6. New York: American Tract Society, Jun 1920. p. 86.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Open Tomb. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday School
    Journal_. Vol. 47 No. 4. Cincinnati: Methodist Book Concern,
    Apr 1915. title page. Note: Stanzas’ original layout of 2-over-1
    is presented in this compilation as follows: top-left stanza as
    first stanza, top-right as second and bottom as third.

Our Hearts Forget. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American
    Messenger_. Vol. 81 No. 3. New York: The American Tract Society,
    Mar 1923. p. 40

The Outcome. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Classic_. Vol. 9 No. 5. Bayshore, NY: M. P. Publishing Co.,
    Jan 1920. p. 90. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Palm Sunday v1925. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Congregationalist_. Vol. 110 No. 13. Boston: Congregational
    Publishing Society, Mar 26, 1925. p. 398. Notes: 1) Stanzas’
    original layout of side-by-side is presented in this compilation as
    follows: left stanza as first stanza, right as second, 2) Jesus
    healed Bartimaeus of blindness (Mark 10:46–52).

A Parents’ Prayer v1922. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Herald
    of Gospel Liberty_. Vol. 114 No. 16. Dayton, OH: The Christian
    Publishing Association, Apr 20, 1922. p. 372. Note: The sixth
    verse’s lack of indentation (half a space) was not replicated.

Patchwork. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 24 No. 7. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Aug 1922. p. 121. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

A Perfect Day. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Princeton, Ind. Source: _The
    Epworth Era_. Vol. 29 No. 2. Nashville: Lamar & Barton, Oct 1922.
    p. 63. Notes: 1) Title’s period removed, 2) Stanzas’ original
    layout of side-by-side is presented in this compilation as follows:
    left stanza as first stanza, right as second, 3) E-readers might
    not correctly present “perfect” in first verse with small caps,
    which is used for emphasis.

Picture Books. Byline: C. E. Flynn. Source: _Photoplay Magazine_.
    Vol. 22 No. 2. Chicago: Photoplay Publishing Co., Jul 1922. p. 101.
    Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps, 2) Dropped initial in
    first verse normalized for e-readers, 3) Stanzas’ original layout
    of side-by-side is presented in this compilation as follows: left
    stanza as first stanza, right as second.

Pictures. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Photoplay Magazine_.
    Vol. 15 No. 1. Chicago: Photoplay Publishing Co., Dec 1918. p. 40.
    Notes: 1) Stanzas’ original layout of 2-over-2-over-1 is presented
    in this compilation as follows: top-left stanza as first stanza,
    middle-left as second, top-right as third, middle-right as fourth
    and bottom as fifth, 2) The fourth stanza’s second verse’s
    indentation by one space was deleted.

The Picture’s Lament. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion
    Picture Magazine_. Vol. 27 No. 3. Jamaica, NY: Brewster
    Publications, Inc., Apr 1924. p. 102. Note: Title’s case changed
    from all caps.

Picture Writing. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 24 No. 8. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Sep 1922. p. 109. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

A Prayer. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Warsaw Daily Times_.
    Warsaw, IN: Reub. Williams & Sons, Nov 29, 1923. p. 6. Note:
    Title’s case changed from all caps.

Prayer for Normal Men. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Princeton, Ind.
    Source: _The Congregationalist_. Vol. 109 No. 4. Boston:
    Congregational Publishing Society, Jan 24, 1924. p. 118

A Prayer for Thanksgiving. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American
    Messenger_. Vol. 80 No. 11. New York: The American Tract Society,
    Nov 1922. p. 179

A Price Unpaid. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Northwestern
    Christian Advocate_. Vol. 63 No. 41. Chicago: Methodist Book
    Concern, Oct 6, 1915. p. 969

The Problem. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The American 
    Tyler-Keystone_. Vol. 41 No. 9. Mount Morris, IL: Tyler
    Publishing Co., Sep 1927. p. 194. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed
    from all caps, 2) Dropped initial in first verse normalized for
    e-readers.

A Psalm of the Movies. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion
    Picture Magazine_. Vol. 23 No. 5. Jamaica, NY: Brewster
    Publications, Inc., Jun 1922. p. 105. Note: Title’s case changed
    from all caps.

The Pupil. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Kindergarten-Primary
    Magazine_. Vol. 39 No. 3. Manistee, MI: J. H. Shults Co.,
    Jan–Feb 1927. p. 87. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Question. v1926 Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 16 No. 12. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Dec 1926. p. 715. Notes: 1) Stanzas’ original layout of side-by-side
    is presented in this compilation as follows: left stanza as
    first stanza, right as second, 2) Dropped initial in first verse
    normalized for e-readers.

The Radio Neighborhood. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Wireless Age_. Vol. 9 No. 11. New York: Wireless Press Inc.,
    Aug 1922. p. 90

The Railroad. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _New York Central
    Lines Magazine_. Vol. 4 No. 11. New York: New York Central Lines,
    Feb 1924. p. 25. Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

Requisition. Byline: Clarence F. Flynn. Source: _The Summary_. Vol. 45
    No. 46. Elmira, NY: New York State Reformatory, Nov 12, 1927. p. 3.
    Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps, 2) Byline’s middle
    initial is as printed.

Roads v1925. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Presbyterian
    Standard_. Vol. 66 No. 9. Charlotte: Presbyterian Standard
    Publishing Co., Mar 4, 1925. p. 9. Notes: 1) Title’s case
    changed from all caps, 2) Indentation given to sixth verse of
    second stanza.

The Rooster. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal Efficiency_.
    Vol. 16 No. 7. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University, Jul 1926.
    p. 436. Note: Illustrated dropped initial in each stanza’s first
    verse normalized for e-readers.

The Rulers of the Earth. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Pacific
    Rural Press_. Vol. 111 No. 9. San Francisco: Pacific Rural Press
    Co., Feb 27, 1926. p. 289. Note: Title’s case changed from all
    caps and its period removed.

Sanctuary. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Ave Maria_. Vol. 26
    No. 21. Notre Dame, IN: Nov 19, 1927. p. 648. Notes: 1) Title’s
    period removed, 2) Illustrated dropped initial in first verse
    normalized for e-readers.

The Second Wind. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Railway
    Maintenance of Way Employes Journal_. Vol. 32 No. 7. Detroit:
    Jul 1923. p. 39. Notes: 1) For context of first stanza consider
    Jennifer Rosenberg’s article, “Why the Model T Is Called the Tin
    Lizzie.” //www.thoughtco.com/nickname-tin-lizzie-3976121 (accessed
    May 25, 2025), 2) “Employes” in publication title is as printed.

The Secret. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal Efficiency_.
    Vol. 17 No. 1. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University, Jan 1927.
    p.21. Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

The Section Foreman. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _New York
    Central Lines Magazine_. Vol. 2 No. 12. New York: New York Central
    Railroad Co., Mar 1922. p. 44. Notes: 1) First stanza’s opening
    quotation mark was corrected from being upside down, 2) Closing
    quotation mark added to end of first stanza for consistency with
    second stanza, 3) Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

The Serving Giant. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Edison
    Monthly_. Vol. 15 No. 2. New York: The New York Edison Co.,
    Feb 1923. p. 34

Shadows v1921. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 22 No. 11. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Dec 1921. p. 114. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Shadows on the Wall. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 27 No. 2. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Mar 1924. p. 98. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Shadow World. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 22 No. 12. Jamaica, NY: Brewster Publications, Inc.,
    Jan 1922. p. 108. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Sight and Faith. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Catholic
    World_. Vol. 126 No. 751. New York: The Paulist Fathers, Oct 1927.
    p. 84. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps and its period
    removed, 2) E-readers might not correctly present “walked” in first
    verse with small caps, which is used for emphasis.

Si Gidders. Byline: Clarence Flynn. Bloomfield, Ind. Source: _The
    Indianapolis Journal: The Sunday Journal_, morning ed. Vol. 52
    No. 306. Indianapolis: Journal Newspaper Co., Nov 2, 1902.
    p. 10 of Part 2. Notes: 1) Title’s period removed, 2) In response
    to an editor’s request for biographical information, Mr. Flynn
    responded, “My first work was published in a little farm paper in
    1901. By 1902 I got into the old _Indianapolis Journal_....”
    (_American Astrology Magazine_. Vol. 13 No. 6. New York: Clancy
    Publications, Inc., Aug 1945. p. 16).

The Silent Drama. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Classic_. Vol. 9 No. 5. Bayshore, NY: M. P. Publishing Co.,
    Jan 1920. p. 79. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Sing a Little Song. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Stepping
    Stones_. Vol. 14 No. 3. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House,
    Jan 17, 1926. p. 20

Song of the Dove. Byline: Clarence Edwin Flynn, ’09. Source: _Earlham
    Verse_. Richmond, IN: John Dougan Rea, 1914. p. 38. Notes: 1) He
    attended Earlham during 1905–1907 (_The Earlham College Bulletin:
    The Directory_. Vol. 13 No. 5. Richmond, IN: Earlham College,
    Aug 1916. p. 58), 2) Title’s case changed from all caps,
    3) Dropped initial in first verse normalized for e-readers.

Sorrow. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Continent_. Vol. 55
    No. 44. Chicago: McCormick Publishing Co., Oct 30, 1924. p. 1331

The Stars and Stripes for Me. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source:
    _Education_. Vol. 43 No. 3. Boston: The Palmer Co., Nov 1922.
    p. 147. Note: Commas preceding em dashes were removed.

Starting Things. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 17 No. 8. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Aug 1927. p. 175. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps,
    2) Dropped initial in first verse normalized for e-readers.

The Station. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _New York Central Lines
    Magazine_. Vol. 2 No. 12. New York: New York Central Railroad Co.,
    Mar 1922. p. 46. Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized
    for e-readers.

Success. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal Efficiency_.
    Vol. 17 No. 2. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University, Feb 1927.
    p. 47. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps, 2) Dropped
    initial in first verse normalized for e-readers.

Success and Failure. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal
    Efficiency_. Vol. 18 No. 8. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University,
    Aug 1928. p. 176

The Sunbeam and the Shadow. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion
    Picture Magazine_. Vol. 22 No. 9. Jamaica, NY: Brewster
    Publications, Inc., Oct 1921. p. 107. Note: Title’s case changed
    from all caps.

The Teacher v1921. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday
    School Journal_. Vol. 53 No. 11. Cincinnati: The Methodist Book
    Concern, Nov 1921. p. 651. Note: Dropped initial in first verse
    normalized for e-readers.

The Teacher v1922. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday
    School Journal_. Vol. 54 No. 8. Cincinnati: The Methodist Book
    Concern, Aug 1922. Cover page

The Teacher v1923. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday
    School Journal_. Vol. 55 No. 9. Cincinnati: The Methodist Book
    Concern, Sep 1923. Cover page. Note: Dropped initial in first verse
    normalized for e-readers.

The Teacher’s Reward. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Juvenile
    Instructor_. Vol. 60 No. 4. Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School
    Union, Apr 1925. p. 188

Team-work. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal Efficiency_.
    Vol. 16 No. 9. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University, Sep 1926.
    p. 567. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps, 2) Art piece
    signature of “McV” stands for G. R. McVicker.

The Temple. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Congregationalist_.
    Vol. 107 No. 35. Boston: Congregational Publishing Society, Aug 31,
    1922. p. 269

Thankfulness. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Ave Maria_.
    Vol. 29 No. 25. Notre Dame, IN: Jun 22, 1929. p. 779. Notes:
    1) Title’s period removed, 2) Illustrated dropped initial in
    first verse normalized for e-readers.

Their First Meal. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Own Your Own
    Home_. Vol. 2 No. 4. Jamaica, NY: The Constructive Publishing Corp.,
    Aug 1926. p. 7

The Things That I Believe. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source:
    _America_. Vol. 32 No. 11. New York: The America Press, Dec 27,
    1924. p. 258. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Today and Tomorrow. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American
    Cookery_. Vol. 29 No. 1. Boston: The Boston Cooking School Magazine
    Co., Jun–Jul 1924. p. 21. Note: Stanzas’ original layout of
    side-by-side is presented in this compilation as follows: left
    stanza as first stanza, right as second.

Transforming Love. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American
    Messenger_. Vol. 81 No. 2. New York: The American Tract Society,
    Feb 1923. p. 23

The Tree. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Personal Efficiency_.
    Vol. 14 No. 6. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University, Jun 1924.
    p. 424

A Trouble Making World. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    American Friend_. Vol. 27 (old series), Vol. 8 (new series) No. 17.
    Richmond, IN: The Friends Publication Board, Fourth Month (Apr) 22,
    1920. p. 385. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Trouble with the Movies. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source:
    _Amateur Movie Makers_. Vol. 3 No. 5. New York: Amateur Cinema
    League, Inc., May 1928. p. 355. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from
    all caps and its period removed, 2) Stanzas’ original layout of
    side-by-side is presented in this compilation as follows: left
    stanza as first stanza, right as second.

True Values. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday School
    Journal_. Vol. 48 No. 5. Cincinnati: The Methodist Book Concern,
    May 1916. p. 337. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Two Princes. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Northwestern Christian
    Advocate_. Vol. 63 No. 34. Chicago: Methodist Book Concern, Aug 18,
    1915. p. 800. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Umbrella Mender. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Christian
    Register_. Vol. 105 No. 52. Boston: The Christian Register Inc.,
    Dec 30, 1926. p. 1186

The Unknown Soldier. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Daughters of
    the American Revolution Magazine_. Vol. 58 No. 3. Albany, NY: The
    National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution,
    Mar 1924. p. 148. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Via Dolorosa. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _America_. Vol. 32
    No. 24. New York: The America Press, Mar 28, 1925. p. 570. Note:
    Title’s case changed from all caps.

The Voices of God. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Sunday
    School Journal_. Vol. 47 No. 6. Cincinnati: Methodist Book Concern,
    Jun 1915. p. 420. Notes: 1) Title’s case changed from all caps,
    2) E-readers might not correctly present “thousand” in first verse
    with small caps, which is used for emphasis.

Voices of the Dawn. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _American
    Cookery_. Vol. 27 No. 2. Boston: The Boston Cooking School Magazine
    Co., Aug–Sep 1922. No page number

The Watchdog of the Sea. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Our Navy_.
    Vol. 16 No. 17. Washington D. C.: Men o’ Warsmen Inc., Dec 15, 1922.
    p. 2. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Walking with God. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Herald of
    Gospel Liberty_. Vol. 120 No. 35. Dayton, OH: The Christian
    Publishing Association, Aug 30, 1928. p. 807. Notes: 1) Title’s
    case changed from all caps, 2) Dropped initial in first verse
    normalized for e-readers.

Wander Lust. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Farm Life_. Vol. 47
    No. 5. Spencer, IN: Farm Life Publishing Co., May 1928. p. 34

The Wealth of Cheer. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Indianapolis, Ind.
    Source: _Southwestern Christian Advocate_. Vol. 44 No. 27.
    New Orleans: The Methodist Book Concern, Jul 8, 1915. p. 5.
    Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

What Does It Matter? Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Bloomington, Ind.
    Source: _Christian Advocate_. Vol. 85 No. 44. Nashville: Lamar &
    Barton, Oct 31, 1924. p. 1387. Note: Title’s case changed from
    all caps.

“Whatever he may wish or plan”. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The
    Progressive Farmer_. Vol. 44 No. 8. Birmingham: The Progressive
    Farmer Co., Feb 23, 1929. p. 19. Note: The poem appears in four
    parts interspersed in a third-party sermon. Transcriber is
    uncertain if they constitute the entire poem.

When the Curtain Falls. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion
    Picture Magazine_. Vol. 16 No. 9. Bayshore, NY: The M.P. Publishing
    Co., Oct 1918. p. 123. Note: Title’s case changed from all caps.

Where Is Heaven? Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _The Beacon_.
    Vol. 13 No. 7. Boston: The Beacon Press, Inc., Nov 12, 1922. p. 26.
    Note: Dropped initial in first verse normalized for e-readers.

Why We Are Here. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Princeton, Ind. Source:
    _The Epworth Era_. Vol. 31 No. 3. Nashville: Lamar & Barton,
    Nov 1924. p. 118. Notes: 1) Title’s period removed, 2) Stanzas’
    original layout of side-by-side is presented in this compilation as
    follows: left stanza as first stanza, right as second, 3) E-readers
    might not correctly present the “ur” of “Our” in first verse with
    small caps, which is used for emphasis.

The Window of Dreams. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion
    Picture Magazine_. Vol. 26 No. 5. Jamaica, NY: Brewster
    Publications, Inc., Dec 1923. p. 126. Note: Title’s case changed
    from all caps.

The World’s Drama. Byline: Clarence E. Flynn. Source: _Motion Picture
    Magazine_. Vol. 15 No. 5. Bayshore, NY: The M.P. Publishing Co.,
    Jun 1918. p. 99. Notes: 1) Stanzas’ original layout of 
    1-over-2-over-2 is presented in this compilation as follows: top
    stanza as first stanza, middle-left as second, bottom-left as
    third, middle-right as fourth and bottom-right as fifth, 
    2) Illustrated dropped initial in first verse normalized for
    e-readers.




APPENDIX 2: INDEX


Categories are not mutually exclusive. Also, bracketed text indicates a
humorous (H) poem and/or offers additional information to facilitate
searches for a particular poem.

accountability
  Charge Account
  The Section Foreman [train]

ancestors
  Old-Fashioned Pictures

attitude
  A Perfect Day
  Sing a Little Song
  The Wealth of Cheer

behavior
  The Fabulous City [speculation]
  Film Judgment [H; theater]
  Knocking [H; car]
  The Modern Pupil [H; insubordination]
  A Psalm of the Movies [H; theater]
  The Umbrella Mender [procrastination]

character
  Almost
  The Bantams [H; animal]
  The Chameleon [animal]
  The Close-Up
  Domsie
  The End of the Trail
  Freedom v1928
  His Epitaph [compassion]
  In Conference [H; haughtiness]
  Iron [potential]
  I Want [greed]
  Jim
  Prayer for Normal Men
  The Tree [corruption, plant]
  A Trouble Making World [self]
  Two Princes

community
  Along the Road [service]
  The Gifts of the Church
  Magi and Shepherd [equality]
  The Radio Neighborhood [connection]
  Team-work [farm, teamwork]

consolation
  My Little Fire

duty
  Doing It Well
  The Engineer [train]
  The Lucky Man

electricity
  The City’s Nerves
  Cupid’s Lament [H]
  Electricity
  An Electric Personality [H; pun]
  Enslaved Lightning [H]
  The Harness [H]
  The High Tension Line [miracle]
  Jove’s Plaint [H]
  The Serving Giant [service]

entertainment
  After-Images [theater]
  The Magic of the Screen [theater]
  Picture Books [theater]
  The Picture’s Lament [H; theater]
  The Shadow World [theater]
  The Trouble with the Movies [H; theater]
  The Window of Dreams [theater]

evolution
  The Electric Spark [creation]
  Evolution [H; technology]
  The Firefly [animal]
  Picture Writing [theater]

faith
  Credo
  Faith v1928
  The Gateway of the Kingdom
  The Happy Ending
  The Man Who Knows
  Sight and Faith
  The Things That I Believe

fashion
  The Question v1926 [H]

fellowship
  Brotherhood
  Fade-Outs
  Heart Gates

fortitude
  Climaxes v1923
  The Cross v1927
  Have You Tried?
  The Rooster [H; animal]
  The Second Wind [car]
  Walking with God

God
  The Creator [omnipresence]
  Flowers Are Thoughts of God [plant]
  The God of the Beginning [Providence]
  God’s Garden
  God’s Manners [nature]
  Imminence [nature]
  The Voices of God [nature]
  What Does It Matter? [Providence]

grace
  The Divine Image
  The Open Soul

gratitude
  Childhood on the Farm
  Compensation
  The Cry of a Human
  The Gift of the Farm
  God of To-Day
  A Grace for Meals
  A Prayer
  Thankfulness [plant]

heart
  The Age of a Heart
  Finding God [nature]
  The King
  No Room in the Inn
  Our Hearts Forget

heaven
  The Land of Heart’s Desire
  The Making of Heaven
  My Father’s House
  Where Is Heaven?

home
  Coming and Going [train]
  Home v1921
  Home v1925
  The Making of Home
  The Temple [reverence]
  Their First Meal
  Wander Lust

hope
  Climaxes v1921 [theater]
  An Easter Vision
  Hope
  The New Year
  The Open Tomb
  The Outcome [theater]
  Roads v1925
  The Unknown Soldier [war]
  Via Dolorosa

legacy
  Life
  Monuments [angel]

life
  The Great Adventure
  The Lens [theater]
  Light and Shadow [theater]
  Patchwork
  Pictures
  The Railroad [train]
  Shadows v1921 [theater]
  Shadows on the Wall [theater]
  The Station [train]
  The Sunbeam and the Shadow [theater]
  Today and Tomorrow
  Why We Are Here [purpose]

love
  Palm Sunday v1925
  Transforming Love

military
  The Marine
  The Watchdog of the Sea [navy]

mortality
  When the Curtain Falls [theater]
  The World’s Drama [theater]

nature
  The Earth’s Plaint [technology]
  Miracle
  Song of the Dove [animal]
  Voices of the Dawn

parenting
  The Children v1921
  The Children v1925
  The Heart of a Child
  The Heart of a Child Is a Scroll
  His Great Hour
  A Parents’ Prayer v1922
  The Problem

patriotism
  The Flag at Sea
  My Riches
  The Stars and Stripes for Me

people
  Gutenberg, Johannes
    Starting Things [H]
  Jesus Christ
    An Easter Vision
    If Christ Is Not Divine
    The King
    Magi and Shepherd
    No Room in the Inn
    The Open Tomb
    The Outcome
    Palm Sunday v1925
    Two Princes
    Via Dolorosa
  Moses
    “I am not eloquent”
  Thales of Miletus
    How It Started

prayer
  Child’s Prayer [nighttime]
  Credo
  God of To-Day [gratitude]
  A Grace for Meals
  Hagar’s Song [trust]
  Morning Prayer [petition]
  A Parents’ Prayer v1922 [nighttime]
  A Prayer [gratitude]
  Prayer for Normal Men
  A Prayer for Thanksgiving [mercy]
  The Problem
  Sanctuary

sorrow
  The Dream
  “I held a sea shell to my ears” [sea]
  Sorrow

special occasions
  birth of a child
    The Children v1925 [parenting]
    The Future [time]
    The Heart of a Child [parenting]
    The Heart of a Child Is a Scroll [parenting]
  Earth Day
    The Earth’s Plaint [nature]
    The Firefly [evolution]
    God’s Manners [God]
    Miracle [nature]
    Song of the Dove [nature]
    Voices of the Dawn [nature]
  Flag Day (see Patriotism)
  funeral
    The Making of Heaven [heaven]
    Monuments [legacy]
    Roads v1925 [hope]
    Sorrow
    When the Curtain Falls [mortality]
  Independence Day (see Patriotism)
  Labor Day (see Duty)
  Martin Luther King Day
    Team-work [teamwork]
  Memorial Day
    The Grey Host [war]
    Memorial Day v1929
    The Unknown Soldier [hope]
  National Inventors’ Day (Feb 11)
    Inventive Genius [H; thought]
    Starting Things [H; thought]
  National Static Electricity Day (Jan 9)
    How It Started [thought]
  New Year’s Day
    The New Year [hope]
  Thanksgiving (see Gratitude)
  Valentine’s Day
    Cupid’s Lament [H; electricity]
  Veterans Day (see also Military)
    Jim
    The New Day

success
  The Day’s Success [positive impact]
  The Secret [initiative and perseverance]
  Success [joy and love]
  Success and Failure [happiness]

talent
  “I am not eloquent”
  The Rulers of the Earth [farm]

teaching
  The Builder v1924
  The Builders
  The Pupil
  The Teacher v1921
  The Teacher v1922
  The Teacher v1923
  The Teacher’s Reward

thought
  How It Started
  Inventive Genius [H]
  The Magic Gateway [books]
  Minds
  Si Gidders [H]
  The Silent Drama [theater]
  Starting Things [H]

time
  The Clock [H]
  A Day at a Time [hope]
  The Future [children]

values
  A Creed
  Let Us Be Right
  The Measure of Life
  Requisition
  True Values
  “Whatever he may wish or plan”

war
  Battle Hymn
  The Grey Host [peace]
  The New Day [peace]
  A Price Unpaid




APPENDIX 3: INACCESSIBLE POEMS


The collection of poetry may be incomplete for a couple of reasons.
First, poems may be unknown to the transcriber. Second, publications
for known poems may be inaccessible. Poems in the latter category are
listed at the following website along with an e-mail address in case
you can help: //cefpoet.w3spaces.com/index.html.




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