DOORS OF DARING
                               by Henry van Dyke 


                     The mountains that inclose 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!"

                     The bars of life 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.


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