POETRY SPOT

I have previously posted poems by Edgar A Guest, of whom wit Dorothy Parker said:

“I would rather fail my Wasserman test

Then read the poetry of Edgar A Guest.”

The Wasserman test was an antibody test for syphilis.

(Once asked to put the word “horticulture” into a sentence and make it humorous, she said “You can lead a whore to culture but you can’t make her think.”)

Edgar Guest (1881-1959) was a prolific American poet – publishing a poem every day in the Detroit Free Press for 30 years. Known as the People’s Poet, Edgar Guest wrote easy-to-read poems about many relatable topics. He wrote encouraging life messages about topics such as family and work.

This following poem encourages people not to give up when they are faced with challenges, apt in these Covid days.

Even when things are not going well, keep pushing on. You never know how close you are to success and making it to the other side.

Keep Going

By Edgar Guest

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, 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 twists 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.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor’s cup,

And he learned too late, when the night 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 afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—

It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

-------oOo-------

Here is a pictorial version of the same message . . .