John Greenleaf Whittier

[victor-victim]

Don't Quit

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 strange with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure comes 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.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell just 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.


by John Greenleaf Whittier

 

[tommyb]

(victor-victim)

 

[LinEar]

Thanks, really needed to hear this tonight. Almost like I knew to sign in.

 

[victor-victim]

glad you liked it.
i did, too.

(tommyb) (LinEar)

here is another



Oh for boyhoods painless play,
Sleep that wakes in laughing day,
Health that mocks the doctors rules,
Knowledge never learned of schools,
Of the wild bees morning chase,
Of the wild-flowers time and place,
Flight of fowl and habitude
Of the tenants of the wood;
How the tortoise bears his shell,
How the woodchuck digs his cell,
And the ground-mole sinks his well;
How the robin feeds her young,
How the orioles nest is hung;
Where the whitest lilies blow,
Where the freshest berries grow,
Where the ground-nut trails its vine,
Where the wood-grapes clusters shine;
Of the black wasps cunning way,
Mason of his walls of clay,
And the architectural plans
Of gray hornet artisans!
For, eschewing books and tasks,
Nature answers all he asks;
Hand in hand with her he walks,
Face to face with her he talks,
Part and parcel of her joy,
Blessings on the barefoot boy!

from The Barefoot Boy
by John Greenleaf Whittier