Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of my father’s death, it’s hard to believe that its been five years, and yet here we are; so much has happened, so much has changed and yet so much remains the same. I miss him so very much, I miss his wisdom, his humour, his strength but most of all I miss the comfort I felt simply knowing he was there. It was while I was thinking of him that I recalled this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow … which somehow feels apt… <\/p>\n
\n(What the heart of the young man said to the psalmist)\n\nTell me not, in mournful numbers,\n\"Life is but an empty dream!\"\nFor the soul is dead that slumbers,\nAnd things are not what they seem.\n\nLife is real! Life is earnest!\nAnd the grave is not its goal;\n\"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,\"\nWas not spoken of the soul.\n\nNot enjoyment, and not sorrow,\nIs our destined end or way;\nBut to act, that each tomorrow\nFinds us farther than today.\n\nArt is long, and Time is fleeting,\nAnd our hearts, though stout and brave,\nStill, like muffled drums, are beating\nFuneral marches to the grave.\n\nIn the world's broad field of battle,\nIn the bivouac of Life,\nBe not like dumb, driven cattle!\nBe a hero in the strife!\n\nTrust no Future, howe'er pleasant!\nLet the dead Past bury its dead!\nAct, -act in the living Present!\nHeart within, and God o'erhead!\n\nLives of great men all remind us\nWe can make our lives sublime,\nAnd, departing, leave behind us\nFootprints on the sands of time;\n\nFootprints, that perhaps another,\nSailing o'er life's solemn main,\nA forlorn and shipwrecked brother,\nSeeing, shall take heart again.\n\nLet us, then, be up and doing,\nWith a heart for any fate;\nStill achieving, still pursuing,\nLearn to labour and to wait.\n\n<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of my father’s death, it’s hard to believe that its been five years, and yet here we are; so much has happened, so much has changed and yet so much remains the same. I miss … Continue reading