"Admonition" by John C. Blair (1876)

Admonition.

BY JOHN C. BLAIR.

He who a truth seeks to impart,

        Must feel it first within the heart,

Then send it forth in beauty wrought,

        A pure, resplendent gem of thought.

Let not the errors of the day,

        O'er mind and heart hold evil sway;

Accept the truth, the right maintain,

        Life's noblest ends seek to attain.

The sinful path of pleasure shun,

        Be not allured by siren tongue,

Life's prizes are but few and rare,

        But transient bubbles on the air.

Let charity the motto be,

        Another's faults be slow to see,

And try and win by gentle word,

        The hearts of those who may have erred.

Then peace around thy hearth will cling,

        Remorse of conscience never sting,

While from the soul a purer light,

        Will pierce through error's darkest night.

And soothing thoughts of sweet content,

        Will yield a bliss far more intent,

Than wealth can give, or fashion power,

        The fleeting pleasures of an hour.

Troy Daily Times. April 15, 1876: 1 col 2.