Special session: The Torch Bearer (Paul D. Mooney)

The Torch Bearer, Author Uknown. It is a poem our President, Paul D. Mooney likes to read each year to graduates as a reminder. If you're an IBC Alumni, you've no doubt heard it. It's a great reminder and holds special meaning read by Rev. Paul D. Mooney - a man who has bore the torch boldly.

The Torch Bearer

The God of the High Endeavor

Gave me a torch to bear.

I lifted it high above me

In the dark and murky air;

And straightway with loud hosannas

The crowd proclaimed its light

And followed me as I carried my torch

Through the starless night,

Till drunk with people’s praises

And mad with vanity

I forgot ’twas the torch they followed

And fancied they followed me.

Then slowly my arm grew weary

Upholding the shining load

And my tired feet went stumbling

Over the dusty road.

I fell with the torch beneath me.

In a moment the light was out.

When lo! from the throng a stripling

Sprang forth with a mighty shout,

Caught up the torch as it smoldered,

And lifted it high again,

Till fanned by the winds of heaven,

It fired the souls of men.

And as I lay in the darkness

The feet of the trampling crowd

Passed over and far beyond me,

Its paeans proclaimed around,

And I learned in the deepening twilight

This glorious verity,

‘Tis the torch that the people follow,

Whoever the bearer may be.

—Author unknown