We talked together and you said that now Three things lay open to me, that I could choose And that you'd back me up. First, there was Art. And though you didn't say so, I could see You'd have been glad if I had chosen that. I had a talent for it, so you said, And I could study with the best of them. You'd set aside a hundred thousand dollars; And I could finish up by travelling, Seeing the beautiful buildings of the world; That I could take my time, then settle down And glorify my land: that's what you said. Then there was Public Life. You'd start me in By giving me the Courier. That, you said, Would give me at once a standing among men And training in political affairs. And that if I made good you'd see to it I had a seat in Congress, and in the end That probably I'd be Governor of the State. And then you paused. You didn't like the third. Business, you said, was an unpleasant life. 'Twas all right as you'd used it, as a means, But as an end--And then you used words, father, That changed my life although you didn't know it-- 'Business, my son, is war; needful at times, But as a life,--you shook your head and sighed. With that we ended it, for some one came And I went out. Six years ago last June, The seventh of June; I can't forget the day. The sun was shining but a strange new light Lay over everything. All of a sudden It dawned upon my mind that I'd been reared Inside a garden full of flowers and trees, And only now had chanced upon the gate And stepped out. There was smoke upon the skies And a rumbling of strange wagons in the street. I was afraid. For every man I met Seemed just about to ask, 'What side are you on?' And I was twenty-one and didn't know.
You seem to have found out since you've been away.
I'd always thought 'twas garden everywhere. I walked on up the river and sat down Upon the logs up there, and night came on. And in the waters flowing at my feet The lighted land went by, cities and towns And the vast murmur and the daily life Of those that toil, the hunger and the care. And in my heart I knew that it was true, That what you said was true. And I came back Filled with such peace as I had never known. 'I'll enter business, father.' And I did. I started at the bottom in the mill Helping the engineer, and from the saws Carried the lumber with the other men. Then in the yard. You always praised my work. I'm in the office now at twenty-seven, And Secretary of the Company. I think I know the business pretty well. You've said so. But somehow----