"Dignity" by Too-qua-stee

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Support Poem-a-Day November 3, 2019   Dignity   Too-qua-stee

And what, in fact, is dignity? In those Who have it pure, it is the soul's repose,  The base of character—no mere reserve  That springs from pride, or want of mental nerve. The dignity that wealth, or station, breeds,  Or in the breast on base emotion feeds,  Is easy weighed, and easy to be sized—A bastard virtue,     much to be despised. True dignity is like a summer tree.  Beneath whose shade both beast, and bird, and bee, When by the heated skies oppressed, may come, And feel, in its magnificence, at home;  Or rather like a mountain which forgets Itself in its own greatness, and so lets  Vast armies fuss and fight upon its sides, While high in clouds its peaceful summit hides, And from the voiceless crest of glistening snow,  Pours trickling fatness on the fields below; Repellant force, that daunts obtrusive wrong, And woos the timid steps of right along; And hence a garb which magistrates prepare, When called to judge, and really seem to wear.  In framing character on whate'er plan,  'Tis always needed to complete the man,  The job quite done, and Dignity without,  Is like an apple pie, the fruit left out.               This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on November 3, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets. About this Poem   "Dignity" originally appeared in Vinita Weekly Chieftain on August 11, 1904.   Too-qua-stee, also known as DeWitt Clinton Duncan, was born in the Cherokee Nation in Georgia in 1829. He worked as an attorney for the Cherokee Nation, as well as a teacher of Latin, English, and Greek. He died in 1909. "Lost and Found" by Ron Padgett "The New Religion" by Chris Abani "On Virtue" by Phillis Wheatley November Guest Editor: Sherwin Bitsui   Thanks to Sherwin Bitsui, author of Dissolve (Copper Canyon Press, 2018), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A with Bitsui about his curatorial approach this month and find out more about our guest editors for the year.  A culture break, a source of daily renewal...   If reading Poem-a-Day has become a meaningful part of your day, please consider supporting this free series with a donation. Your gift makes publishing Poem-a-Day possible. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit poets.org   Unsubscribe here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038

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