Read "If I Were a Man, a Young Man" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
If I were a man, a young man, and knew what I know to-day, / I would look in the eyes of Life undaunted / By any Fate that might threaten me. / I would give to the world what the world most wanted- / Manhood that knows it can do and be; / Courage that dares, and faith that can see / Clear into the depths of the human soul, / And find God there, and the ultimate goal, / If I were a man, a young man, and knew what I know to-day.
If I were a man, a young man, and knew what I know to-day, / I would think of myself as the masterful creature / Of all the Masterful plan; / The Formless Cause, with form and feature; / The Power that heeds not limit or ban; / Man, wonderful man. / I would do good deeds, and forget them straightway; / I would weave my woes into ropes and climb / Up to the heights of the helper's gateway; / And Life should serve me, and Time, / And I would sail out, and out, and find / The treasures that lie in the deep sea, Mind. / I would dream, and think, and act; / I would work, and love, and pray, / Till each dream and vision grew into a fact, / If I were a man, a young man, and knew what I know to-day.