Odd Fellowship Lines Read at Concert

We look in vain for our Past Grands,
Now scattered over many lands,
Now some o’er the wide world do rove,
And some have joined Grand Lodge above,
But ever since Father Adams’ fall
We are dependent creatures all,
Though man is weak yet he may join
With others strength for to combine.

The illustration it is grand,
Five Oddfellows in one hand,
And yet they all united stand,
Each finger hath a different length,
Each finger varies in its strength,
Each one is weak, but a firm fist,
You can scarcely break or twist,
’Tis same with members of a lodge,
United them you cannot budge.

Then let us linked with pleasant chain,
Friendship, love and truth maintain,
And aid our brothers in distress,
The widows and the orphans bless,
Then let each lodge strive all it can,
Both Oxford and Samaritan
To aid distressed brother man,
Extending influence for good,
And universal brotherhood.

Where this text comes from

First published in Musings on the Banks of Canadian Thames (1884). First located printing is this volume; an earlier periodical printing has not been established. [1]

Structure read from the source's markup; the words have not been compared against a page scan. Last checked 2026-08-20.

Taken from Standard Ebooks, standardebooks/james-mcintyre_poetry, poetry.xhtml. Rights: public domain (SE dedication; underlying text pre-1931).

Earlier sources (3)

This poem as JSON or plain text. Line anchors #L1–#L26.

Cite this poem

James McIntyre (1828?–1906). “Odd Fellowship Lines Read at Concert.” First published in Musings on the Banks of Canadian Thames (1884). Text: Poem Index, https://poemindex.org/james-mcintyre/odd-fellowship-lines-read-at-concert/. Append #L14 to cite line 14, or #L4-L9 for lines 4–9.

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