"Truth Never Dies" (A Poem)

Truth Never Dies

Author Unknown

Truth never dies.  The ages come and go.

  The mountains wear away, the stars retire.

Destruction lays earth’s mighty cities low;

   And empires, states and dynasties expire;

But caught and handed onward by the wise,

  Truth never dies.

Though unreceived and scoffed at through the years;

  Though made the butt of ridicule and jest;

Though held aloft for mockery and jeers,

  Denied by those of transient power possessed,

Insulted by the insolence of lies,

  Truth never dies.

It answers not.  It does not take offense,

  But with a mighty silence bides its time;

As some great cliff that braves the elements

  And lifts through all the storms its head sublime,

It ever stands, uplifted by the wise;

  And never dies.

As rests the Sphinx amid Egyptian sands;

  As looms on high the snowy peak and crest;

As firm and patient as Gibraltar stands,

  So truth, unwearied, waits the era blessed

When men shall turn to it with great surprise. 

  Truth never dies.

The Sphinx

Gibraltar

I gave this poem to my 7th-8th grade co-op English students in their homework handouts on the first week of class last August.  We read it line by line in class, talking about the concepts, unfamiliar words (such as transient, sublime, and insolence), repetition ("Truth never dies") and the rhyming pattern of each verse (ABABCC).  I frequently give them well-written classic poetry in their assignments.  It's good for the brain and the heart!

For more on how we incorporate poetry at all grade levels, read here: 

Poetry in Life and Education

Go read a poem with your kids!

Virginia Knowles

www.ContinueWellHomeSchool.blogspot.com