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“The House of Alpha”
By Bro. Sidney P. Brown
GOODWILL is the monarch of this house
Men, unacquainted, enter, shake hands,
exchange greetings, and depart friends.
Cordiality exists among all who abide within.
I am the eminent expression of friendship.
Character and temperament change under my dominant power.
Lives, once touched by me become tuned,
and are thereafter, amiable, kindly, fraternal.
I inspire the musician to play noble sentiments,
and assist the chemist to convert ungenerous personalities
into individuals of great worth.
I destroy all ignoble impulses.
I constantly invoke principles which make for common brotherhood,
and the echo resounds in all communities,
and princely men are thereby recognized.
Education, health, music, encouragement, sympathy, laughter:
All these are species of interest given of self-invested capital.
Tired moments find me a delightful treat,
Hours of sorrow a shrine of understanding,
At all times I am faithful to the creed of companionship.
To a few I am the Castle of Dreams,
Ambitious, successful, hopeful dreams.
To many, I am the Poetic Palace
where human feeling is rhymed to celestial motives.
To the great majority,
I am the Treasury of Good Fellowship.
In fact, I am the College of Friendship;
The University of Brotherly Love;
The School for the Better Making of Men.
I AM ALPHA PHI ALPHA!
"Invictus"
by William Ernest Henly
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winched nor cried aloud
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond the place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.
"Excuses"
Author Unknown
Excuses are tools of incompetence.
They build monuments of nothingness, and
Those who specialize in them seldom accomplish anything
"The Test of a Man"
Author Unknown
The test of man is the fight that he makes.
The grit that he daily shows.
The way that he stands upon his feet.
And takes life’s numerous bumps and blows.
A coward can smile,
When there’s not to fear.
And nothing, his progress bars.
But it takes a man to stand and cheer.
While the other fellow stars.
It isn’t the victory after all,
But, the fight that a brother makes.
A man when driven against the wall,
still stands erect and takes,
the blows of fate, With his head held high.
Bleeding, bruised, and pale!!
Is the man who will win, fate defied,
For he isn’t afraid to fail.
"Don't Quit"
Author Unknown
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
and you want to weep, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twist and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Oft the goal is nearer than,
it seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has gave up,
when he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late when slipped down,
how close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
and you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst, that you must not quit.
"IF"
By Rudyard Kipling
IF you can keep your head when all about are losing there's and blaming it on you.
IF you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too.
IF you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about don't deal in lies,
or being hated don't give way to hating and yet don't look too good nor talk to wise.
IF you can dream and not make dreams your master.
IF you can think and not make thoughts your aim.
IF you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.
IF you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools.
Or watch the things you gave your life to broke and stoop and build'em up with worn out tools.
IF you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch and toss.
And lose and start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word about your loss.
IF you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone.
And so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them hold on.
IF you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue or walk with kings nor lose the common touch.
IF never neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, IF all men count with you, but none too much.
IF you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run.
Yours is the earth and everything that's in it and which is more... you'll be a man my son!
"HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER"
By Bro. Freeman Montague Jr.
Our family trees are not the same; we both have a different mother
And yet I'd proudly tell the world that this man is my brother.
It's like we've lived our lives together, though we meet for the first time.
As this powerful sense of brotherhood makes everything seem fine.
Spectators stand and look with awe as we do our secret shake.
Never realizing that this clasping of hands does not a brother make.
We are brothers in a deeper sense than they can comprehend.
For when our bond has just begun, theirs is about to end.
When we were searching for the light, as all Sphinxmen must do.
They stood aside and laughed out loud and said "I wouldn't do that, would you?"
And yet when we had crossed those sands, and the light we could finally see.
They stood aside and whispered softly, "Oh how I wish it were me!"
I know the decision I made was wise, of this I'm sure and have no doubt.
Each day in my life will have blue skies for I'm and ALPHA from here on out.
And never again will I be lonely for I have brothers everywhere.
In cities of population two, I even have a brother there.
There is nothing in this whole world that we wouldn't do for one another.
I'm sure I'd even give my life to save that of my brother.
But there are still those in darkness who cannot understand
why I share the burden which belongs to another man
When asked, "Why weigh yourself down with the load of another?"
I simply smile at them and say,
"He ain't heavy, He's my brother!!!"
"SLEEP"
By Bro. Avery Phillips
Sleep
Sleep is for the weak
Sleep is for those who don't wish to eat
There are 24 hours in a day
If you mess around with sleep
You won't make it to next May
But if success is what you seek
Watch how we move
The way we surpass peak
Upon peak
Upon peak
Needless of sleep
We are ice cold warriors
Who stand amongst the weak
We don't need shhh from sleep
Cause sleep is for the weak
so WAKE UP!!!