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Let me not rise with swiftly passive ease, But scale the structure, knowing every yard, Though chosen effort tests the heart and knees, Stretches the lungs and makes the legs breathe hard. And if my careless, smooth-shoed foot should fail, May I repent before I strike the floor, Realize my peril, reach to grasp the rail, And climb the next flight safer than before. Each solid step its own organic gain, That limbs and heart should see a fuller strength, Speaks that I do not exercise in vain, But train to fit a higher floor at length. Though countless steps encumber the design, I'll name each soul-earned stair entirely mine.
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