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I am a man of wisdom and no god

I am a man of wisdom and no god,
emerging from our superstitious past.
When, as I shall, I lie beneath the sod
I will have set example to the last;
to hold the trust that nature put in me;
to cultivate each talent as I can;
through discipline and duty to be free
of guilt unworthy of the race of man.
I owe this to the ones that came before,
who slowly raised the glory of the mind,
with music, laughter, wit, a boundless store
of answers to all problems we can find.

The unlit lamp, the unused skill is sin.
The only way that man can fail to win.
[from the Desert of my Heart and Mind by F.J.A.Pockley 1912-1990]
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