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Inspiring poem: Build me a Son

Mar 14, 2008 @ 09:49

I'm rarely moved by poetry (or atleast I don't admit it), but this poem touched me, and I thoght you might like it too.

Build Me a Son
General Douglas A. MacArthur

Build me a son, O Lord,
who will be strong enough to know when he is weak,
and brave enough to face him self when he is afraid;
one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,
and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be
where his backbone should be;
a son who will know Thee- and that
to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort,
but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.
Here, let him learn to stand up in the storm;
here, let him team compassion for those who fall.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goals will be high;
a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men;
one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep;
one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his,
add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor,
so that he may always be serious,
yet never take himself too seriously.

Give him humility, so that he may always remember
the simplicity of true greatness,
the open mind of true wisdom,
the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper,
"I have not lived in vain."

The text you are quoting:

I'm rarely moved by poetry (or atleast I don't admit it), but this poem touched me, and I thoght you might like it too.

Build Me a Son
General Douglas A. MacArthur

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be
where his backbone should be;
a son who will know Thee- and that
to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

And after all these things are his,
add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor,
so that he may always be serious,
yet never take himself too seriously.

Give him humility, so that he may always remember
the simplicity of true greatness,
the open mind of true wisdom,
the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper,
"I have not lived in vain."
Nir OfekMar 14, 2008 @ 09:49

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Re: Inspiring poem: Build me a Son

Post 1

Mar 14, 2008 @ 18:38

So beautiful!! Thanks for sharing :)

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So beautiful!! Thanks for sharing :)
Lannah, Mar 14, 2008 @ 18:38

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Re: Inspiring poem: Build me a Son

Post 2

Mar 14, 2008 @ 18:54

What did you say in your profile headline? "Just became a father to TomTom" No wonder you stumbled upon that particular poem ;)

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What did you say in your profile headline? "Just became a father to TomTom" No wonder you stumbled upon that particular poem ;)
Free, Mar 14, 2008 @ 18:54

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Re: Inspiring poem: Build me a Son

Post 3

Mar 14, 2008 @ 18:59

As far as I am concerned, I found this one, from Khalil Gibran , when I became a father:

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, “Speak to us of Children.”

And he said:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

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Re: Inspiring poem: Build me a Son

Post 4

Mar 14, 2008 @ 19:47

build me a son,

My father used to read me things from Macarthur all the time. Build me Son was his favorite at bedtime when I was young.

"By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact.
But I am prouder -- infinitely prouder -- to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys."
Douglas Macarthur

Now I am a father and all the little things that old man said rush back to me like ghostly whispers. So if you see me in the street talking to myself, I am either cursing him or asking him for advice.

Thank you for sharing that this touched you. This is one that men should learn young and try to understand.

Poetry has a way of sticking to us,

Tonyt

The text you are quoting:

build me a son,

My father used to read me things from Macarthur all the time. Build me Son was his favorite at bedtime when I was young.

Thank you for sharing that this touched you. This is one that men should learn young and try to understand.

Poetry has a way of sticking to us,

Tonyt
TonyT, Mar 14, 2008 @ 19:47

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