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SELF-CONFIDENT YOUTH
THE earth is mine and its myriad flowers,
And the stars are mine: I shall count them all;
As I hasten on with expanding powers,
No cloud-capped peak shall my strength appal.
I will measure my might 'gainst the might of Ocean,
In ships of my building, its wastes will dare;
I will learn of the swallow its swift-winged motion,
And ride as it rides, through the fields of Air! . . .
I marvel my fathers have been contented
To live and to labor in ways time-worn:
That to Fate's denials they e'er consented,
Solaced by trifles my soul would scorn!
For the tired old world I will write a story
That none of her children has told before:
A tale of adventure and love, whose glory
Shall glow in her annals forevermore.
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