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Stand

There comes a time to stand for what you know
To be the right, whatever be the cost.
Then get you up to speak, or do, or go,
To fill some gaping breach, though you be tossed
From wave to towering wave, while dervish winds
Pull sail from yard, and blind your eyes with spray.
Do what you must; go fight beside your friends.
Do what you can, and more. Go seize the day.
Fear not the foe, and damn the shores alee;
To win the fight, you must run to the van.
The valiant prisoner’s heart may yet be free.
The coward’s heart is chained, and never can.
Go fight your fight; you must do what you ought.
It’s better fought and lost than never fought.

When comes that time to stand for what you know
To be the right, whatever be the cost,
Then get you up to speak, or do, or go,
And do it now, though all you have be lost.
Seek not a shelter from that raging wind,
Though round you all you see be tempest tossed;
These are the times that try the souls of men.
Without them all we love is slowly lost.
A man might think his friends should also stand.
He may be right; it matters not at all,
Save that he then alone, at need, shall stand
Regardless of the chance that he may fall.
The one true God, who cares for all we do,
Will aid that man; ’tis He Who made him true.

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Mark Lukey is a retired engineer residing in Monroe, North Carolina.

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12 Responses

  2. Roy Eugene Peterson

    “Stand” provides a timeless challenge for those who would and should fulfill their duty to fight against the evil foe extant in our society. Regardless of those storms of life, those naysayers, and those who turn their backs on their duty, this poem says despite the fact we may stand alone, and “regardless of the chance that he may fall,” bravely withstanding the forces is worth everything! I love this poem that demonstrates fearlessness in the face of adversity.

    Reply
  4. Mary Gardner

    Mark, thank you for this inspiring poem. I read the first stanza as an exhortation; the second as the voice of experience, spoken by one who has taken a stand himself.

    Reply
  5. Paul Freeman

    The theme of this poem, both executed and followed through, put me in mind of Stephen King’s tome ‘The Stand’, some characters making a stand and others taking the easy route out.

    Great stuff, Mark.

    Reply
  6. Yael

    Very well said, I like it, thank you. This is an inspiring and well balanced poem, great job.

    Reply
  7. Margaret Coats

    Inspirational pair of sonnets, Mark, with literary allusions and your own creative touches. I love “Go seize the day” for turning the usual sense of “Carpe diem” upside down. “The coward’s heart is chained and never can.” Period. Never can do what? You leave a large realm of possibilities, excoriating cowardice for choosing not to begin any of them. Splendid.

    Reply
  8. Phil S. Rogers

    A great message. Americans must stop burying their heads in the sand.

    Reply
    • Joshua C. Frank

      I second this! I also like the double sonnet form. I didn’t expect the two sonnets starting the same, but somehow it works.

      Reply
  9. Cynthia Erlandson

    Hear, hear! This has a great message, presented in a beautiful form. I found it intriguing, and effective, that the first three lines of the second sonnet echoed the first three lines of the first. And the metaphor you carried through, of the storm at sea, was well done. (The art that was chosen to go with it was perfect, too.)

    Reply

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