Poems
The following are a collection of poems that are meant to inspire. Understanding the depths of meaning in these poems can be particularly beneficial to those that aspire to walk towards the light of Alpha.
Invictus - By Sir. William Ernest Hensley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever Gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of Circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of Chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
If - By Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!
Test of A Man - Author Unknown
The test of a man is the fight that he makes,
The grit that he daily shows,
The way he stands upon his feet,
And takes life’s numerous bumps and blows.
A coward can smile when there’s naught to fear.
And nothing his progress bars,
But it takes a man to stand and cheer,
While the other fellow stars.
It isn’t the victory after all
But the fight that a Brother makes.
A man when driven against the wall,
Still stands erect and takes the blows of fate
With his head held high,
bleeding, bruised and pale,
Is the man who will win and fate defied,
For he isn’t afraid to fail!
Don't Quit - By Edgar A. Guest
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to weep but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow
You might succeed with another blow.
Oft the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late, as the night slipped down,
How close he’d been to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
The Man who Thinks He Can - Author Unknown
If you think you’re beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost.
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will,
It’s all a state of mind.
If you think you’re out-classed, you are;
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself,
Before you can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles does not always go,
To the stronger or faster man.
But, soon or late, the man who wins,
IS THE MAN WHO THINKS HE CAN!!!
If you think you’re beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost.
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will,
It’s all a state of mind.
If you think you’re out-classed, you are;
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself,
Before you can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles does not always go,
To the stronger or faster man.
But, soon or late, the man who wins,
IS THE MAN WHO THINKS HE CAN!!!
House of Alpha - By Bro. Sidney P. Brown
GOODWILL is the monarch of this house
Men, unacquainted, enter, shake I,
exchange greetings, and depart friends.
Cordiality exists among all who abide within.
I am the eminent expression of friendship.
Character and temperament change under my dominant power.
Lives, once touched by me become tuned,
and are thereafter, amiable, kindly, fraternal.
I inspire the musician to play noble sentiments,
and assist the chemist to convert ungenerous personalities
into individuals of great worth.
I destroy all ignoble impulses.
I constantly invoke principles which make for common brotherhood,
and the echo resounds in all communities,
and princely men are thereby recognized.
Education, health, music, encouragement, sympathy, laughter:
All these are species of interest given of self-invested capital.
Tired moments find me a delightful treat,
Hours of sorrow a shrine of understanding,
At all times I am faithful to the creed of companionship.
To a few I am the Castle of Dreams,
Ambitious, successful, hopeful dreams.
To many, I am the Poetic Palace
where human feeling is rhymed to celestial motives.
To the great majority,
I am the Treasury of Good Fellowship.
In fact, I am the College of Friendship;
The University of Brotherly Love;
The School for the Better Making of Men.
I AM ALPHA PHI ALPHA!
There Goes An Alpha Man - By Peter Clarke
There goes a man of high impulse,
Of princely mien and grace.
There goes a man of humble faith,
A credit to his race.
There goes a man of conscience vast,
With the will to reach his goal.
There goes a man of lordly rank,
Of heroe’s stock and soul.
There goes a man of noble caste,
Whom hardship cannot break.
There goes a man in merit clad,
Whom duty won’t forsake.
There goes a man in cultured verse,
Who holds a sportman’s creed.
There goes a man too vigilant,
To bow to lust or greed.
There goes a man whose life is spent,
In service not in scorn.
There goes a man whose majesty,
Shines like a may time morn.
There goes a man who is a friend,
To love and duty truth.
There goes a man to help uplift,
The lives of wholesome youth.
There goes a man with industry,
And faith at his command.
There goes the best man in and out,
For he is an Alphaman.
To be an Alpha Man - By Fred H. Woodruff
To be an Alphaman means more than just to wear a pin,
It requires intrinsic qualities that are developed deep within,
It calls for lasting brotherhood, a word sometimes used in vain,
It means an honest devotion, not anticipation of personal gain.
Fraternity speaks of brotherly love, that’s something to achieve,
It’s more than just a grip of hands, it’s an ideal to conceive.
You’re proud to be an Alpha, and share her praises won,
Before you inflate yourself with pride, ask yourself, honestly, how much have I done?
To realize the wealth of personal satisfaction, from knowing you’ve given your all,
To have helped her cause unfalteringly, when you rally to her call.
To combine all these qualities, and root them deep within,
The product would be an Alphaman, deserving of his pin.
So take an honest inventory of your character within,
And for every virtue you find missing, try and weave it in.
For a man without these virtues isn’t worth a grain of sand.
It’s plain to see, it’s more than just a pin, that makes an Alphaman.