Text of the Poem

What kind of thoughts now, do you carry
     In your travels day by day
Are they bright and lofty visions,
     Or neglected, gone astray?

Matters not how great in fancy,
     Or what deeds of skill you’ve wrought;
Man, though high may be his station,
     Is no better than his thoughts.

Catch your thoughts and hold them tightly,
     Let each one an honor be;
Purge them, scourge them, burnish brightly,
     Then in love set each one free.