Continuing with our theme of National Poetry month, the following poem was published in the first edition of the Furman yearbook, Bonhomie (1901). The poem is entitled “To Furman” and was written by Samuel Marion Wolfe, who graduated from Furman University in 1903, and went on to become the attorney general of South Carolina (1918-1924).
To Furman
Grave child of destiny, of penury born,
Sweet emblem star of sanctity, of thee
I sing. Innumerable voices called thee,
Innumerable souls do hail thee, Furman!
Full many are the youths whose minds thy mould,
Hath ably shaped and left divine impress
Upon their characters. Yet many, too,
Are they who ‘neath the mark hath fallen, but
To thee no blame attaches, Alma Mater,
and from their deeds pray God thy cheeks with shame
May never blush–for ‘neath the nations’ suns
Thy sages proudly walk. Thy grim archways
And penciled walls; the old mahogany clock
With muffled tick and faded dial that
Has tolled the generations by and still
Ticks on in solemn way the moments as
They go; the towered bell upon whose face
The name of many a truant is inscribed,
Hath each its tale to tell. Thy shaded slopes;
The tiny streams that trip and break o’er pebble
And stone and wind through blossoming dells where zephyrs
Do come and drink sweet fragrance, and the birds
Are wont to sing, all make our tasks less irksome;
Our stay more pleasant; leaving more reluctant.
For half a century thou hast stood, and yet,
Each year adds radiance to thy halo, and
New laurels to thy wreath. With one accord
let ‘s swell the oratorio until
One grand continuous song thy praises shall
Resound throughout eternity.