| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 611. Purpose |
| | | By John James Piatt |
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| STRONG in thy steadfast purpose, be | |
| Like some brave master of the sea, | |
| Whose keel, by Titan pulses quickened, knows | |
| His will where’er he goes. | |
| Some isle, palm-roofed, in spiced Pacific air | 5 |
| He seeks—though solitary zones apart, | |
| Its place long fixed on his deep-studied chart. | |
| Fierce winds, your wild confusion make! | |
| Waves, wroth with tide and tempest, shake | |
| His iron-wrought hull aside! | 10 |
| However driven, to that far island fair | |
| (His compass not more faithful than his heart) | |
| He makes his path the ocean wide— | |
| His prow is always there! | |
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