Poem: Opportunities

Opportunity

                                                                      John James Ingalls. 1833–1900

Master of human destinies am I!

Fame, love, and fortune on my footsteps wait.

Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate

Deserts and seas remote, and passing by

Hovel and mart and palace ----- soon or late

I knock unbidden once at every gate!

"If sleeping, wake --- if feasting, rise before

I turn away. It is the hour of fate,

And they who follow me reach every state

Mortals desire, and conquer every foe

Save death; but those who doubt or hesitate,

Condemned to failure,penury,and woe,

Seek me in vain and uselessly implore.

I answer not, and I return no more!"