Doors of Daring

The mountains that enfold the vale

    With walls of granite, steep and high,

Invite the fearless foot to scale

    Their stairway toward the sky.

The restless, deep, dividing sea

    That flows and foams from shore to shore,

Calls to its sunburned chivalry,

    "Push out, set sail, explore!"

And all the bars at which we fret,

    That seem to prison and control,

Are but the doors of daring, set

    Ajar before the soul.

Say not, "Too poor," but freely give;

    Sigh not, "Too weak," but boldly try,

You never can begin to live

    Until you dare to die.