If we would keep our spirits young we should learn this lesson from the
trees, by Richard Kirk:
Master, I learn this lesson from the trees:
Not to grow old. The maple by my door
Puts forth green leaves as cheerily as I,
When I was taller than this selfsame tree,
Put forth my youthful longings. I have erred,
Standing a bleak and barren leafless thing
Among my hopeful brothers. I am shamed.
I will not be less hopeful than the trees;
I will not cease to labor and aspire;
I will not pause in patient high endeavor;
I will be young in heart until I die.
--_Lippincott’s Magazine._
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