Poems of Purpose

<h2><SPAN name="page115"></SPAN><span class="pagenum"></span>WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?</h2> <h3>I</h3> <p class="poetry"><span class="smcap">What</span> have you done, and what are you doing with life, O Man!<br/> O Average Man of the world&mdash;<br/> Average Man of the Christian world we call civilised?<br/> What have you done to pay for the labour pains of the mother who bore you?<br/> On earth you occupy space; you consume oxygen from the air:<br/> And what do you give in return for these things?<br/> Who is better that you live, and strive, and toil?<br/> Or that you live through the toiling and striving of others?<br/> As you pass down the street does any one look on you and say,<br/> &lsquo;There goes a good son, a true husband, a wise father, a fine citizen?<br/> <SPAN name="page116"></SPAN><span class="pagenum"></span>A man whose strong hand is ready to help a neighbour,<br/> A man to trust&rsquo;?&nbsp; And what do women say of you?<br/> Unto their own souls what do women say?<br/> Do they say: &lsquo;He helped to make the road easier for tired feet?<br/> To broaden the narrow horizon for aching eyes?<br/> He helped us to higher ideals of womanhood&rsquo;?<br/> Look into your own heart and answer, O Average Man of the world,<br/> Of the Christian world we call civilised.</p> <h3>II</h3> <p class="poetry">What do men think of you, what do they think and say of you,<br/> O Average Woman of the world?<br/> Do they say: &lsquo;There is a woman with a great heart,<br/> Loyal to her sex, and above envy and evil speaking?<br/> There is a daughter, wife, mother, with a purpose in life:<br/> She can be trusted to mould the minds of little children.<br/> She knows how to be good without being dull;<br/> <SPAN name="page117"></SPAN><span class="pagenum"></span>How to be glad and to make others glad without descending to folly;<br/> She is one who illuminates the path wherein she walks;<br/> One who awakens the best in every human being she meets&rsquo;?<br/> Look into your heart, O Woman! and answer this:<br/> What are you doing with the beautiful years?<br/> Is your to-day a better thing than was your yesterday?<br/> Have you grown in knowledge, grace, and usefulness?<br/> Or are you ravelling out the wonderful fabric knit by Time,<br/> And throwing away the threads?<br/> Make answer, O Woman!&nbsp; Average Woman of the Christian world.</p> <div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div> <div class="gapmediumline">&nbsp;</div> <p style="text-align: center">Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty<br/> at the Edinburgh University Press</p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />