Classic Poem

We are the keepers of that steadfast light
That guides a people's course and destiny;
Not ours the skill directing over sea
The mighty beams that blaze the path aright;
Ours but the hands that, serving, keep it bright,
The bringers of the oil, the workers we
Who day long, without pause and faithfully,
Toil that its radiance may pierce the night.

Above us are the wills that guide and turn;
It is not ours to watch nor question these, —
Ours but to see each wick is trimmed and fit
Lest on a night of storms it fails to burn
And a Great Ship goes down in awful seas.
O, Keepers of the light; keep faith with it!