Old Years and New

Poem for the Day

Old Years and New
by Edgar Albert Guest

Old years and new years, all blended into one,
The best of what there is to be, the best of what is gone- 
Let's bury all the failures in the dim and dusty past
And keep the smiles of friendship and laughter to the last.

Old years and new years, life's in the making still;
We haven't come to glory yet, but there's the hope we will;
The dead old year was twelve months long, but now from it we're free,
And what's one year of good or bad to all the years to be?

Old years and new years, we need them one and all
To reach the dome of character and build its sheltering wall;
Past failures tried the souls of us, but if their tests we stood.
The sum of what we are to be may yet be counted good.

Old years and new years, with all their pain and strife,
Are but the bricks and steel and stone with which we fashion life;
So put the sin and shame away, and keep the fine and true,
And on the glory of the past let's build the better new. 

Old Mister Laughter

Poem for the Day

Old Mister Laughter
by Edgar Albert Guest

Old Mister Laughter
Comes a-grinnin' down the way,
Singin': 'Never mind your troubles,
For they'll surely pass away.'
Singin': 'Now the sun is shinin'
An' there's roses everywhere;
To-morrow will be soon enough
To fret about your care.'

Old Mister Laughter
Comes a-grinnin' at my door,
Singin': 'Don't go after money
When you've got enough and more.'
Singin': 'Laugh with me this mornin'
An' be happy while you may.
What's the use of riches
If they never let you play?'

Old Mister Laughter
Comes a-grinnin' all the time,
Singin' happy songs o' gladness
In a good old-fashioned rhyme.
Singin': 'Keep the smiles a-goin',
Till they write your epitaph,
And don't let fame or fortune
Ever steal away your laugh.' 

Old Friends

Poem for the Day

Old Friends
by Edgar Albert Guest

I do not say new friends are not considerate and true, 
Or that their smiles ain't genuine, but still I'm tellin' you 
That when a feller's heart is crushed and achin' with the pain, 
And teardrops come a-splashin' down his cheeks like summer rain, 
Becoz his grief an' loneliness are more than he can bear, 
Somehow it's only old friends, then, that really seem to care. 
The friends who've stuck through thick an' thin, who've known you, good an' bad, 
Your faults an' virtues, an' have seen the struggles you have had, 
When they come to you gentle-like an' take your hand an' say: 
'Cheer up! we're with you still,' it counts, for that's the old friends' way. 

The new friends may be fond of you for what you are today; 
They've only known you rich, perhaps, an' only seen you gay; 
You can't tell what's attracted them; your station may appeal; 
Perhaps they smile on you because you're doin' something real; 
But old friends who have seen you fail, an' also seen you win, 
Who've loved you either up or down, stuck to you, thick or thin, 
Who knew you as a budding youth, an' watched you start to climb, 
Through weal an' woe, still friends of yours an' constant all the time, 
When trouble comes an' things go wrong, I don't care what you say, 
They are the friends you'll turn to, for you want the old friends' way. 

The new friends may be richer, an' more stylish, too, but when 
Your heart is achin' an' you think your sun won't shine again, 
It's not the riches of new friends you want, it's not their style, 
It's not the airs of grandeur then, it's just the old friend's smile, 
The old hand that has helped before, stretched out once more to you, 
The old words ringin' in your ears, so sweet an', Oh, so true! 
The tenderness of folks who know just what your sorrow means, 
These are the things on which, somehow, your spirit always leans. 
When grief is poundin' at your breast — the new friends disappear 
An' to the old ones tried an' true, you turn for aid an' cheer. 

Now And Then

Poem for the Day

Now and Then
by Edgar Albert Guest

Why not think a decent thought,
Now and then?
Why not ponder, as you ought, 
Now and then? 
Get your mind out of the mire, 
To the higher things aspire, 
Claim a loftier desire, 
Now and then.

Think of something else than gold,
Now and then! 
Think of things not bought and sold, 
Now and then;
Turn from sordid deeds and mean, 
In your acts your thoughts are seen, 
Think of something sweet and clean, 
Now and then.

Think of good instead of bad,
Now and then; 
Of the bright things, not the sad, 
Now and then;
If you think the way you should, 
As you could think if you would, 
You would do a lot of good, 
Now and then. 

Nothing Unusual

Poem for the Day

Nothing Unusual
by Edgar Albert Guest

They lived together thirty years,
I Through storm and sunshine, weal and woe;
They shared each other's hopes and fears — 
She still his sweetheart, he her beau; 
She, proud of him, though he was not 
A millionaire, or known to fame. 
The wife — contented with her lot,
The man — well, very much the same.

He never thought she ought to be
Always agreeable and gay; 
And she did not expect that he
Would never have a grouchy day. 
She did not think that he was one
Without a single fault or whim, 
Nor did she try a paragon
Of goodness to make out of him.

But, hand in hand, they went along
Through all the moods that humans know; 
Displeasure came when things went wrong,
She still his sweetheart, he her beau. 
Frowns, smiles, delight, despair, they knew,
With love always to dry their tears, 
Just simple human folks, those two
Who lived together thirty years. 

Not a Money Debt

Poem for the Day

Not a Money Debt
by Edgar Albert Guest

You can't pay back in dollars what your father does for you,
You can't repay in kindness all the tenderness he shows; 
You little know the perils he has safely brought you through,
And the wealth of Rockefeller this account would never close.

Just remember, as you travel, now alone upon your way 
That your only chance of squaring up the debt you owe your dad 
Is to strive with all your courage to grow better every day
And become the man he dreamed of when you were a little lad. 

No Use Sighin'

Poem for the Day

No Use Sighin'
by Edgar Albert Guest

No use frettin' when the rain comes down,
No use grievin' when the gray clouds frown,
No use sighin' when the wind blows strong,
No use wailin' when the world's all wrong;
Only thing that a man can do
Is work an' wait till the sky gets blue.

No use mopin' when you lose the game,
No use sobbin' if you're free from shame,
No use cryin' when the harm is done,
Just keep on tryin' an' workin' on;
Only thing for a man to do,
Is take the loss an' begin anew.

No use weepin' when the milk is spilled,
No use growlin' when your hopes are killed,
No use kickin' when the lightnin' strikes
Or the floods come along an' wreck your dykes;
Only thing for a man right then
Is to grit his teeth an' start again.

For it's how life is an' the way things are
That you've got to face if you travel far;
An' the storms will come an' the failures, too,
An' plans go wrong spite of all you do;
An' the only thing that will help you win,
Is the grit of a man and a stern set chin.