Poetry & Analysis
Selected Poems About Respect
Inspirational PoemsThe Bridge Builder
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim, near,
“You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,—
Why build you this bridge at eventide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head:
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followeth after me to-day
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.”
Overview Short Summary
An old man builds a bridge not for himself but for a younger traveler who will come after him. The poem connects respect with care for future generations.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Respect for the young: The old man thinks about the needs of someone who follows him.
- Responsibility: Respect becomes an action, not just a feeling.
- Legacy: The bridge symbolizes service that outlives the builder.
Little Things
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.
So our little errors
Lead the soul away
From the path of virtue,
Far in sin to stray.
Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Make our earth an Eden,
Like the heaven above.
Overview Short Summary
This short poem teaches that small actions matter. In a respect-themed article, its “little words of love” become a simple lesson about daily kindness and manners.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Respect for kids: The poem uses simple language suitable for young readers.
- Small kindnesses: Respect often appears in small words and actions.
- Moral growth: Both little errors and little kindnesses shape character.
Against Quarrelling and Fighting
Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
For God hath made them so;
Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For ’tis their nature too.
But, children, you should never let
Such angry passions rise;
Your little hands were never made
To tear each other’s eyes.
Let love through all your actions run,
And all your words be mild;
Live like the blessed Virgin’s Son,
That sweet and lovely child.
His soul was gentle as a lamb;
And as his stature grew,
He grew in favour both with man,
And God his Father too.
Overview Short Summary
Watts teaches children not to quarrel or fight. The poem frames respect as self-control, mild speech, and peaceful behavior.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Respect for classmates and siblings: The poem asks children to avoid anger and violence.
- Gentleness: Mild words and loving actions are treated as signs of good character.
- Discipline: Respect requires control over angry passions.
If We Understood
Could we but draw back the curtains
That surround each other’s lives,
See the naked heart and spirit,
Know what spur the action gives,
Often we should find it better,
Purer than we judged we should,
We should love each other better,
If we only understood.
Could we judge all deeds by motives,
See the good and bad within,
Often we should love the sinner
All the while we loathe the sin;
Could we know the powers working
To o’erthrow integrity,
We should judge each other’s errors
With more patient charity.
If we knew the cares and trials,
Knew the effort all in vain,
And the bitter disappointment,
Understood the loss and gain—
Would the grim, eternal roughness
Seem—I wonder—just the same?
Should we help where now we hinder,
Should we pity where we blame?
Ah! we judge each other harshly,
Knowing not life’s hidden force;
Knowing not the fount of action
Is less turbid at its source;
Seeing not amid the evil
All the golden grains of good;
Oh! we’d love each other better,
If we only understood.
Overview Short Summary
This poem says people judge one another too quickly because they do not see each other’s hidden struggles. Respect grows when we understand motives, pain, and unseen effort.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Respect and empathy: Understanding another life can soften judgment.
- Compassion instead of criticism: The poem asks readers to pity where they might blame.
- Human complexity: People are more than the mistakes we see from outside.
Small Beginnings
A traveler on the dusty road
Strewed acorns on the lea;
And one took root and sprouted up,
And grew into a tree.
Love sought its shade, at evening time,
To breathe his early vows;
And age was pleased, in heats of noon,
To bask beneath its boughs;
The dormouse loved its dangling twigs,
The birds sweet music bore;
It stood a glory in its place,
A blessing evermore.
A little spring had lost its way
Amid the grass and fern,
A passing stranger scooped a well
Where weary men might turn;
He walled it in, and hung with care
A ladle at the brink;
He thought not of the deed he did,
But judged that all might drink.
He paused again, and lo! the well,
By summer never dried,
Had cooled ten thousand parching tongues
And saved a life beside.
A dreamer dropped a random thought;
‘Twas old, and yet ’twas new;
A simple fancy of the brain,
But strong in being true.
It shone upon a genial mind,
And, lo! its light became
A lamp of life, a beacon ray,
A monitory flame;
The thought was small, its issue great;
A watch-fire on the hill;
It shed its radiance far adown,
And cheers the valley still.
A nameless man, amid a crowd
That thronged the daily mart,
Let fall a word of Hope and Love,
Unstudied from the heart;
A whisper on the tumult thrown,
A transitory breath—
It raised a brother from the dust,
It saved a soul from death.
O germ! O fount! O word of love!
O thought at random cast!
Ye were but little at the first,
But mighty at the last.
Overview Short Summary
“Small Beginnings” shows how small acts can create lasting good. Planting an acorn, making a well, or speaking a word of hope can become a form of respect for many unseen lives.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Kindness: Small respectful acts can bless many people.
- Service: The poem values actions done for others without demand for praise.
- Hope: A simple word can lift someone from despair.
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