Nutritious Words
In a sermon airing Sunday, Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, used one of his father's favorite quotations:
"Ah, great it is to believe the dream as we stand in youth by the starry stream; but a greater thing is to fight life through and say at the end, "The dream is true"!"
I love the sound and meaning of these words, and was curious to find the actual text source. It's been quite a treasure hunt! I don't give up easily, but fell short of finding the exact origin in a poem or essay. I did learn some things about the man responsible for it. You might recognize one of his other poems, "Outwitted": "He drew a circle that shut me out--Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him in!"
Poet Edwin Markham (1852-1940) was the youngest of 10 children when his father abandoned the family due to his belief Edwin was not his biological child. His early years were difficult, and his mother overbearing, although he stood by her throughout their lives, even at the expense of his own marriages. He graduated college at 20, taught school, and by the time he was 47 had been married three times, gaining overnight celebrity when the "The San Francisco Examiner" published his poem "Man with a Hoe" based upon Jean-Francois Millet's similarly named painting.
For the next forty years he moved to Staten Island (NY), published numerous volumes of verse, and, at President Taft's invitation, presented a poem at the dedication service for the Lincoln Memorial. When I checked the "New York Times" archives, there were well over 1,000 articles detailing his countless social and speaking activities. As I scrolled down the archive pages, the headlines appeared in present tense; reading them was like being back in time, illustrating the sheer volume and diversity of his appearances.
In later years he clashed with critics, as modernist poets gained popularity the decade Ford began rolling model T's off their production lines, and the Wright brothers lifted their airplane off a beach at Kitty Hawk. Known as a "poet preacher" Markham's work championed social causes, often contrasting rural innocence with urban corruption, and it's implications for society.
The tragedy for Markham, besides his one work wonder issues, was despite his vigorous speaking and writing schedule late in life, in his early eighties he found himself inside a New York courtroom when his sister-in-law sought to declare him incompetent one year after a stroke left him confused about business matters. During several hours of testimony he sat, carelessly dressed, sometimes making notes, with volumes of his poetry under his arm, periodically showing great agitation, and when pleading his own cause, begged jurors to read his works. His speech was so incoherent, he was escorted from the room shortly after beginning testimony. In final desperation he thrust out a paper and asked the court and jury to consider its information, but upon inspection, the page was blank.
The court declared him incompetent that day, and within three years, he was dead. Despite his struggles and frustrations, he sought to elevate the human condition through his writing. His work was criticized, his star faded, yet seventy one years after his death, pastor Joel Osteen used Markham's verse to bring 16,800 church members roaring to their feet in approval. That's the effect nourishing words can have.
"Ah, great it is to believe the dream as we stand in youth by the starry stream; but a greater thing is to fight life through and say at the end, "The dream is true"!"
I love the sound and meaning of these words, and was curious to find the actual text source. It's been quite a treasure hunt! I don't give up easily, but fell short of finding the exact origin in a poem or essay. I did learn some things about the man responsible for it. You might recognize one of his other poems, "Outwitted": "He drew a circle that shut me out--Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him in!"
Poet Edwin Markham (1852-1940) was the youngest of 10 children when his father abandoned the family due to his belief Edwin was not his biological child. His early years were difficult, and his mother overbearing, although he stood by her throughout their lives, even at the expense of his own marriages. He graduated college at 20, taught school, and by the time he was 47 had been married three times, gaining overnight celebrity when the "The San Francisco Examiner" published his poem "Man with a Hoe" based upon Jean-Francois Millet's similarly named painting.
For the next forty years he moved to Staten Island (NY), published numerous volumes of verse, and, at President Taft's invitation, presented a poem at the dedication service for the Lincoln Memorial. When I checked the "New York Times" archives, there were well over 1,000 articles detailing his countless social and speaking activities. As I scrolled down the archive pages, the headlines appeared in present tense; reading them was like being back in time, illustrating the sheer volume and diversity of his appearances.
In later years he clashed with critics, as modernist poets gained popularity the decade Ford began rolling model T's off their production lines, and the Wright brothers lifted their airplane off a beach at Kitty Hawk. Known as a "poet preacher" Markham's work championed social causes, often contrasting rural innocence with urban corruption, and it's implications for society.
The tragedy for Markham, besides his one work wonder issues, was despite his vigorous speaking and writing schedule late in life, in his early eighties he found himself inside a New York courtroom when his sister-in-law sought to declare him incompetent one year after a stroke left him confused about business matters. During several hours of testimony he sat, carelessly dressed, sometimes making notes, with volumes of his poetry under his arm, periodically showing great agitation, and when pleading his own cause, begged jurors to read his works. His speech was so incoherent, he was escorted from the room shortly after beginning testimony. In final desperation he thrust out a paper and asked the court and jury to consider its information, but upon inspection, the page was blank.
The court declared him incompetent that day, and within three years, he was dead. Despite his struggles and frustrations, he sought to elevate the human condition through his writing. His work was criticized, his star faded, yet seventy one years after his death, pastor Joel Osteen used Markham's verse to bring 16,800 church members roaring to their feet in approval. That's the effect nourishing words can have.
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