Classic Poem

Be not afraid of facts; they must be faced,
And thought must in the affairs of circumstance
Untangle many a knotty point, decide
Grave issues, and so tend life's business that
She runs not into debt with hope and fear,
Doubt's brokers or emotion's merchants, and
So bankrupt's her estate that, inly poor,
Not all conceit or custom's bravery
Can long ward off the wretched hour that gives
Her beggary, like an evil odour, to
The casual air, and taints the time with her.