Life is What We Make of It

Poem for the Day

Life Is What We Make Of It
by Edgar Albert Guest

Life is a jest;
Take the delight of it.
Laughter is best;
Sing through the night of it.
Swiftly the tear
And the hurt and the ache of it
Find us down here;
Life must be what we make of it.

Life is a song;
Dance to the thrill of it.
Grief's hours are long,
And cold is the chill of it.
Joy is man's need;
Let us smile for the sake of it.
This be our creed:
Life must be what we make of it.

Life is a soul;
The virtue and vice of it,
Strife for a goal,
And man's strength is the price of it.
Your life and mine,
The bare bread and the cake of it
End in this line:
Life must be what we make of it. 

Life

Poem for the Day

Life
by Edgar Albert Guest

Life is a jest;
Take the delight of it.
Laughter is best;
Sing through the night of it.
Swiftly the tear
And the hurt and the ache of it
Find us down here;
Life must be what we make of it.

Life is a song;
Let us dance to the thrill of it.
Grief's hours are long,
And cold is the chill of it.
Joy is man's need;
Let us smile for the sake of it.
This be our creed:
Life must be what we make of it.

Life is a soul;
The virtue and vice of it.
Strife for a goal,
And man's strength is the price of it.
Your life and mine,
The bare bread and the cake of it,
End in this line:
Life must be what we make of it. 

Let's Go

Poem for the Day

Let's Go
by Edgar Albert Guest

'There isn't any business,' wailed the sad and gloomy man; 
'I haven't made a dollar since the armistice began.' 
But I couldn't help reflecting, as I heard his story through, 
That the hopeful, cheerful hustler seems to have a lot to do. 


I've been in business places where the air was thick with gloom 
And the men were sad and solemn like the mourners at a tomb, 
And there wasn't any business or an order coming in, 
And, what's more, there never will be till those fellows start to grin. 


'There isn't any business'—aren't you weary of the cry? 
Men have caught the gloomy habit, and they sit around and sigh; 
But the hustler, I have noticed, who has quit his easy chair 
And is confidently working, seems to gather in his share. 


It is time to get the business, it is time to hustle out 
With a man's faith in the future— much too long we've scattered doubt, 
Much too long we've sobbed and whimpered, much too long we've talked of woe; 
Now it's time for optimism and the hopeful phrase,


'Let's go!' 

Learn To Smile

Poem for the Day

We ALL need to smile more often!

Learn to Smile
by Edgar Albert Guest

The good Lord understood us when He taught us how to smile;
He knew we couldn't stand it to be solemn all the while;
He knew He'd have to shape us so that when our hearts were gay,
We could let our neighbors know it in a quick and easy way.

So He touched the lips of Adam and He touched the lips of Eve,
And He said: 'Let these be solemn when your sorrows make you grieve,
But when all is well in Eden and your life seems worth the while,
Let your faces wear the glory and the sunshine of a smile.

'Teach the symbol to your children, pass it down through all the years.
Though they know their share of sadness and shall weep their share of
tears,
Through the ages men and women shall prove their faith in Me
By the smile upon their faces when their hearts are trouble-free.'

The good Lord understood us when He sent us down to earth,
He knew our need for laughter and for happy signs of mirth;
He knew we couldn't stand it to be solemn all the while,
But must share our joy with others- so He taught us how to smile. 

Kindness

Poem for the Day

Kindness
by Edgar Albert Guest

One never knows
How far a word of kindness goes;
One never sees
How far a smile of friendship flees.
Down, through the years,
The deed forgotten reappears.

One kindly word
The souls of many here has stirred.
Man goes his way
And tells with every passing day,
Until life's end:
'Once unto me he played the friend.'

We cannot say
What lips are praising us to-day.
We cannot tell
Whose prayers ask God to guard us well.
But kindness lives
Beyond the memory of him who gives. 

Keep Your Dreams

Poem for the Day

Keep Your Dreams
by Edgar Albert Guest

Keep your dreams-they're richer far 
Than the facts discovered are. 
Do not seek all things to touch; 
Do not want to know too much. 

Growing old, still play the child; 
Keep some glory undefiled. 
What if clouds are mist and air? 
Still see ships sailing there. 

What would life be if we knew 
Only those things which are true? 
If the things of bad and good 
Were by all men understood. 

Nature's hills and brooks and springs 
Would be catalogued as things. 
Keep your dreams, for in them lies 
Joy denied to men grown wise. 

Still build castles in the air! 
Still see white ships sailing there! 
Still have something to pursue, 
Something which you wish you knew. 

Keep to the Right

Poem for the Day

(Always aim to do right)

Keep to the Right
by Edgar Albert Guest

Keep to the right as you travel along,

Often, for safety, your progress is slowed,
This is the rule for the weak or the strong.
Driving or walking this law all observe,
Now it's adopted for aerial flight,
Get just as far as you can or deserve,
But always remember to keep to the right.

Make this the rule of your life every day,
Follow it out in all things that you do,
Guide of your tongue in all things that you say,
Guide to the goals that you seek and pursue.
Let it come first, though you win or you lose,
Conquer or fail in the thick of the fight,
This be the motto that daily you use,
This is sufficient, just' Keep to the Right.' 

Joy

Poem for the Day

For anyone who has the blessing of having a son. Having a daughter is wonderful, too. It's just that they are different in ways hard to describe.

Joy
by Edgar Albert Guest

I never knew the joy of getting home,
I never knew how fast a heart could beat;
I never tasted joy,
Till the day my little boy
Came running up to meet me on the street.
I never knew the pleasure of a smile,
I never knew the music of a voice
Till I heard my baby greet me,
On this day he ran to meet me
In a way that made my weary heart rejoice.

I never knew a welcome half so true,
Till I heard his 'hello daddy!' down the street; 
And though weary as could be, 
When he scampered up to me, 
There was comfort in the patter of his feet. 
I never knew the charm of laughing eyes, 
I never knew how happy I could be; 
I never knew the cheer 
That makes worry disappear, 
Till the day my baby first ran up to me. 

It Isn't Costly

Poem for the Day

It Isn't Costly

by Edgar Albert Guest

Does the grouch get richer quicker than the friendly sort of man?
Can the grumbler labor better than the cheerful fellow can?
Is the mean and churlish neighbor any cleverer than the one
Who shouts a glad 'good morning,' and then smiling passes on?

Just stop and think about it. Have you ever known or seen
A mean man who succeeded, just because he was so mean?
When you find a grouch with honors and with money in his pouch,
You can bet he didn't win them just because he was a grouch.

Oh, you'll not be any poorer if you smile along your way,
And your lot will not be harder for the kindly things you say.
Don't imagine you are wasting time for others that you spend:
You can rise to wealth and glory and still pause to be a friend.