In response to one-word prompt : Thwart
Determination Versus Thwart!
King Bruce of Scotland flung himself down
In a lonely mood to think;
‘Tis true he was monarch, and wore a crown,
But his heart was beginning to sink.
For he had been trying to do a great deed,
To make his people glad;
He had tried and tried, but couldn’t succeed
And so he became quite sad.
He flung himself down in low despair,
As grieved as man could be;
And after a while he pondered there,
” I’ll give it all up, ” said he.
Now just at that moment a spider dropped,
With its silken, filmy clue;
And the King, in the midst of his thinking, stopped
To see what the spider would do.
‘Twas a long way up to the ceiling dome,
And it hung by a rope so fine;
That how it would get to its cobweb home,
King Bruce could not divine.
It soon began to cling and crawl
Straight up with strong endeavour;
But down it came with a slippery sprawl,
As near to the ground as ever.
Up, up it ran, not a second to stay,
To utter the least complaint;
Till it fell still lower, and there it lay,
A little dizzy and faint.
Its head grew steady — again it went,
And travelled a half-yard higher;
‘Twas a delicate thread it had to tread,
And a road where its feet would tire.
Again it fell and swung below,
But again it quickly mounted;
Till up and down, now fast, now slow,
Nine brave attempts were counted.
” Sure, ” cried the King, ” that foolish thing
Will strive no more to climb;
When it toils so hard to reach and cling,
And tumbles every time. ”
But up the insect went once more,
Ah me! ’tis an anxious minute;
He’s only a foot from his cobweb door,
Oh say, will he lose or win it?
Steadily, steadily, inch by inch,
Higher and higher he got;
And a bold little run at the very last pinch
Put him into his native cot.
” Bravo, bravo! the King cried out,
” All honour to those who try;
The spider up there defied despair;
He conquered, and why shouldn’t I? ”
And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind,
And gossips tell the tale,
That he tried once more as he tried before,
And that time did not fail.
The above poem by Eliza Cook teaches us a lesson on,the fact that no one or nothing can prevent or thwart us from reaching our goal, despite all the obstacles put before us.
Some people try to obstruct our ambition by trying to block us mentally. Under those circumstances we must foil their attempt by ignoring them.
…………………………… 🙂
Sabethville 