Just a weed among weeds by the roadside there;
But it nodded and seemed to speak:
“I’m as much a part of this earth as you,
‘Though to you I’m small and weak.
“I’ve no thought of failure; I’ve nothing to gain,
But I, too, have my place in the sun.
I’m holding my head high and doing my best
Till the sands of my course be run.
“God put me here for some reason of His,
And it’s not mine to wonder why–
I’ll fulfill the fate that He has for me,
And the autumn will see me die.
“The autumn will see me die, I say,
But that’s as it ought to be;
I was never intended to be a man,
Or to live as long as a tree.”
….
So be quiet, Ambition, and go your way,
And leave me in peace again:
If a failure am I to the Mind of Man,
And he frown on me now and then,
Let him hark to the weed at the side of the path:
We can’t all be as great as he.
I was never intended for great or rich
To fulfill my destiny!
by Ray Romine Saturday, August 1, 1942
