Chapter 1

IT CAN BE DONE

POEMS OF INSPIRATION

COLLECTED BY

JOSEPH MORRIS and ST. CLAIR ADAMS

FOREWORD

This is a volume of inspirational poems. Its purpose is to bring men courage and resolution, to cheer them, to fire them with new confidence when they grow dispirited, to strengthen their faith that THINGS CAN BE DONE. It is better for this purpose than the entire works of any one poet, for it takes the cream of many and has greater diversity than any one writer can show.

It is made up chiefly of very recent poems--not such as were written for anthologies of poetical "gems," but such as speak directly to the heart, always in very simple language, often in the phrases of shop or office or street. Included, however, with the poems of the day are a few of the fine old pieces that have been of comfort to men through the ages.

Besides the poems themselves, the volume contains helps to their understanding and enjoyment. The pieces are introduced by short comments; these serve the same purpose as the strain played by the pianist before the singer begins to sing; they create a mood, give a point of view, throw light on the meaning of what follows. Also the lives of the authors are briefly summarized; this is in answer to our natural interest in the writer of a poem we like, and in the case of living poets it brings together facts hardly to be found anywhere else.

Finally, the book is not one to be read and then cast aside. It is to be kept as a constant companion and an unfailing recourse in weariness or gloom. Human companions are not always in the mood to cheer us, and may talk upon themes we dislike. But this book will converse or be silent, it is never out of sorts or discouraged, and so far from being wed to some single topic, it will speak to us at any time on any subject we desire.

To many authors and publishers acknowledgment is due for generous permission to use copyright material.

CONTENTS

Abou Ben Adhem............................. _Leigh Hunt_ Answer, The................................ _Grantland Rice_ Appreciation............................... _William Judson Kibby_ Arrow and the Song, The.................... _Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_ Awareness.................................. _Miriam Teichner_

Bars of Fate, The.......................... _Ellen M.H. Gates_ Battle Cry................................. _John G. Neihardt_ Belly and the Members, The................. _William Shakespeare_ Be the Best of Whatever You Are............ _Douglas Malloch_ Borrowed Feathers.......................... _Joseph Morris_ Borrowing Trouble.......................... _Robert Burns_ Brave Life................................. _Grantland Rice_

Call of the Unbeaten, The.................. _Grantland Rice_ Can't...................................... _Edgar A. Guest_ Can You Sing a Song?....................... _Joseph Morris_ Cares...................................... _Elizabeth Barrett Browning_ Celestial Surgeon, The..................... _Robert Louis Stevenson_ Challenge.................................. _Jean Nette_ Chambered Nautilus, The.................... _Oliver Wendell Holmes_ Character of a Happy Life.................. _Sir Henry Wotton_ Clear the Way.............................. _Charles Mackay_ Cleon and I................................ _Charles Mackay_ Columbus................................... _Joaquin Miller_ Conqueror, The............................. _Berton Braley_ Co-operation............................... _J. Mason Knox_ Courage.................................... _Florence Earle Coates Cowards.................................... _William Shakespeare_ Creed, A................................... _Edwin Markham_

Daffodils, The............................. _William Wordsworth_ Days of Cheer.............................. _James W. Foley_ December 31................................ _S.E. Kiser_ De Sunflower Ain't de Daisy................ _Anonymous_ Disappointed, The.......................... _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_ Duty....................................... _Ralph Waldo Emerson_ Duty....................................... _Edwin Markham_

Envoi...................................... _John G. Neihardt_ Essentials................................. _St. Clair Adams_

Fable...................................... _Ralph Waldo Emerson_ Fairy Song................................. _John Keats_ Faith...................................... _S.E. Kiser_ Faith...................................... _Edward Rowland Sill_ Fighter, The............................... _S.E. Kiser_ Fighting Failure, The...................... _Everard Jack Appleton_ Firm of Grin and Barrett, The.............. _Sam Walter Foss_ Four Things................................ _Henry Van Dyke_ Friends of Mine............................ _James W. Foley_

Game, The.................................. _Grantland Rice _ Gifts of God, The.......................... _George Herbert_ Gift, The.................................. _Robert Burns_ Gladness................................... _Anna Hempstead Branch_ Glad Song, The............................. _Joseph Morris_ God........................................ _Gamaliel Bradford_ Good Deeds................................. _William Shakespeare_ Good Intentions............................ _St. Clair Adams_ Good Name, A............................... _William Shakespeare_ Gradatim................................... _G. Holland_ Gray Days.................................. _Griffith Alexander_ Greatness of the Soul, The................. _Alfred Tennyson_ Grief...................................... _Angela Morgan_ Grumpy Guy, The............................ _Griffith Alexander_

Happy Heart, The........................... _Thomas Dekker_ Has-Beens, The............................. _Walt Mason_ Having Done and Doing...................... _William Shakespeare_ Heinelet................................... _Gamaliel Bradford _ Helpin' Out................................ _William Judson Kibby_ Here's Hopin'.............................. _Frank L. Stanton_ Hero, A.................................... _Florence Earle Coates_ He Whom a Dream Hath Possessed............. _Sheamus O Sheel_ His Ally................................... _William Rose Benét_ Hoe Your Row............................... _Frank L. Stanton_ Hold Fast.................................. _Everard Jack Appleton_ Hope....................................... _Anonymous_ Hopeful Brother, A......................... _Frank L. Stanton_ House by the Side of the Road, The......... _Sam Walter Foss_ How Did You Die?........................... _Edmund Vance Cooke_ How Do You Tackle Your Work?............... _Edgar A. Guest_ Hymn to Happiness, A....................... _James W. Foley_

If......................................... _John Kendrick Bangs_ If......................................... _Rudyard Kipling_ If I Should Die............................ _Ben King_ If You Can't Go Over or Under, Go Round.... _Joseph Morris_ I'm Glad................................... _Anonymous_ Inner Light, The........................... _John Milton_ Invictus................................... _William Ernest Henley_ Is It Raining, Little Flower?.............. _Anonymous_ It Couldn't Be Done........................ _Edgar A. Guest_ It May Be.................................. _S.E. Riser_ It Won't Stay Blowed....................... _St. Clair Adams_

Jaw........................................ _St. Clair Adams_ Joy of Living, The......................... _Gamaliel Bradford_ Just Be Glad............................... _James Whitcomb Riley_ Just Whistle............................... _Frank L. Stanton_

Keep A-Goin'!.............................. _Frank L. Stanton_ Keep On Keepin' On......................... _Anonymous_ Keep Sweet................................. _Strickland W. Gillilan_ Kingdom of Man, The........................ _John Kendrick Bangs_ Know Thyself............................... _Angela Morgan_

Laugh a Little Bit......................... _Edmund Vance Cooke_ Lesson from History, A..................... _Joseph Morris_ Let Me Live Out My Years................... _John G. Neihardt_ Life....................................... _Griffith Alexander_ Life....................................... _Edward Rowland Sill_ Life....................................... _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_ Life and Death............................. _Anna Barbauld_ Life and Death............................. _Ernest H. Crosby_ Life, not Death............................ _Alfred Tennyson_ Life Without Passion....................... _William Shakespeare_ Lion Path, The............................. _Charlotte Perkins Gilman_ Lions and Ants............................. _Walt Mason_ Little Prayer, A........................... _S.E. Kiser_ Little Thankful Song, A.................... _Frank L. Stanton_ Lose the Day Loitering..................... _Johann Wolfgang von Goethe_

Man, Bird, and God......................... _Robert Browning_ Man or Manikin............................. _Richard Butler Glaenzer_ Man's a Man for A' That, A................. _Robert Burns_ Man Who Frets at Worldly Strife, The....... _Joseph Rodman Drake_ Meetin' Trouble............................ _Everard Jack Appleton_ "Might Have Been".......................... _Grantland Rice_ Mistress Fate.............................. _William Rose Benét_ Morality................................... _Matthew Arnold_ My Creed................................... _S.E. Kiser_ My Philosophy.............................. _James Whitcomb Riley_ My Triumph................................. _John Greenleaf Whittier_ My Wage.................................... _Jessie B. Rittenhouse_

Never Trouble Trouble...................... _St. Clair Adams_ New Duckling, The.......................... _Alfred Noyes_ Noble Nature, The.......................... _Ben Jonson_

Ode to Duty................................ _William Wordsworth_ On Being Ready............................. _Grantland Rice_ On Down the Road........................... _Grantland Rice_ One Fight More............................. _Theodosia Garrison_ One of These Days.......................... _James W. Foley_ One, The................................... _Everard Jack Appleton_ Opening Paradise........................... _Thomas Gray_ Opportunity................................ _Berton Braley_ Opportunity................................ _John James Ingalls_ Opportunity................................ _Walter Malone_ Opportunity................................ _Edwin Markham_ Opportunity................................ _William Shakespeare_ Opportunity................................ _Edward Rowland Sill_ Order and the Bees......................... _William Shakespeare_ Ownership.................................. _St. Clair Adams_

Painting the Lily.......................... _William Shakespeare_ Per Aspera................................. _Florence Earle Coates_ Pessimist, The............................. _Ben King_ Philosopher, A............................. _John Kendrick Bangs_ Philosophy for Croakers.................... _Joseph Morris_ Pippa's Song............................... _Robert Browning_ Playing the Game........................... _Anonymous_ Playing the Game........................... _Berton Braley_ Play the Game.............................. _Henry Newbolt_ Polonius's Advice to Laertes............... _William Shakespeare_ Poor Unfortunate, A........................ _Frank L. Stanton_ Praise the Generous Gods for Giving........ _William Ernest Henley_ Prayer, A.................................. _Theodosia Garrison_ Prayer for Pain............................ _John G. Neihardt_ Preparedness............................... _Edwin Markham_ Press On................................... _Park Benjamin _ Pretty Good World, A....................... _Frank L. Stanton_ Problem to Be Solved, A.................... _St. Clair Adams_ Prometheus Unbound......................... _Percy Bysshe Shelley_ Prospice................................... _Robert Browning_ Psalm of Life, A........................... _Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_

Quitter, The............................... _Robert W. Service_

Rabbi Ben Ezra............................. _Robert Browning_ Rainbow, The............................... _William Wordsworth_ Rectifying Years, The...................... _St. Clair Adams_ Resolve.................................... _Charlotte Perkins Gilman_ Richer Mines, The.......................... _John Kendrick Bangs_ Ring Out, Wild Bells....................... _Alfred Tennyson_ Rules for the Road......................... _Edwin Markham_

Sadness and Merriment...................... _William Shakespeare_ Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth....... _Arthur Hugh Clough_ See It Through............................. _Edgar A. Guest_ Self-Dependence............................ _Matthew Arnold_ Serenity................................... _Lord Byron_ Sit Down, Sad Soul......................... _Bryan Waller Procter_ Sleep and the Monarch...................... _William Shakespeare_ Slogan..................................... _Jane M'Lean_ Smiles..................................... _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_ Smiling Paradox, A......................... _John Kendrick Bangs_ Solitude................................... _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_ Song of Endeavor........................... _James W. Foley_ Song of Life, A............................ _Angela Morgan_ Song of Thanksgiving, A.................... _Angela Morgan_ Song of To-morrow, A....................... _Frank L. Stanton_ Stability.................................. _William Shakespeare_ Stand Forth!............................... _Angela Morgan_ Start Where You Stand...................... _Bert on Braley_ Steadfast.................................. _Everard Jack Appleton_ Stone Rejected, The........................ _Edwin Markham_ Struggle, The.............................. _Miriam Teichner_ Submission................................. _Miriam Teichner_ Success.................................... _Berton Braley_ Swellitis.................................. _Joseph Morris_ Syndicated Smile, The...................... _St. Clair Adams_

There Will Always Be Something to Do....... _Edgar A. Guest_ Thick Is the Darkness...................... _William Ernest Henley_ Things That Haven't Been Done Before, The.. _Edgar A. Guest_ This World................................. _Frank L. Stanton_ Times Go by Turns.......................... _Robert Southwell_ Tit for Tat................................ _St. Clair Adams_ To Althea from Prison...................... _Richard Lovelace_ Toast to Merriment, A...................... _James W. Foley_ To a Young Man............................. _Edgar A. Guest_ To-day..................................... _Thomas Carlyle_ To-day..................................... _Douglas Malloch_ To Melancholy.............................. _John Kendrick Bangs_ To the Men Who Lose........................ _Anonymous_ To Those Who Fail.......................... _Joaquin Miller_ To Youth After Pain........................ _Margaret Widdemer_ Trainers, The.............................. _Grantland Rice_ Two at a Fireside.......................... _Edwin Markham_ Two Raindrops.............................. _Joseph Morris_

Ultimate Act............................... _Henry Bryan Binns_ Ulysses.................................... _Alfred Tennyson_ Unafraid................................... _Everard Jack Appleton_ Undismayed................................. _James W. Foley_ Unmusical Soloist, The..................... _Joseph Morris_ Unsubdued.................................. _S.E. Kiser_

Victory.................................... _Miriam Teichner_ Victory in Defeat.......................... _Edwin Markham_

Wanted--a Man.............................. _St. Clair Adams_ Welcome Man, The........................... _Walt Mason_ What Dark Days Do.......................... _Everard Jack Appleton_ When Earth's Last Picture Is Painted....... _Rudyard Kipling_ When Nature Wants a Man.................... _Angela Morgan_ Will....................................... _Alfred Tennyson_ Will....................................... _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_ Wisdom of Folly, The....................... _Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler_ Wishing.................................... _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_ Woman Who Understands, The................. _Everard Jack Appleton_ Word, The.................................. _John Kendrick Bangs_ Work....................................... _Angela Morgan_ Work....................................... _Henry Van Dyke_ World Is Against Me, The................... _Edgar A. Guest_ Worth While................................ _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_

You May Count That Day..................... _George Eliot_ Your Mission............................... _Ellen M.H. Gates_

IT CAN BE DONE

BE THE BEST OF WHATEVER YOU ARE

We all dream of great deeds and high positions, away from the pettiness and humdrum of ordinary life. Yet success is not occupying a lofty place or doing conspicuous work; it is being the best that is in you. Rattling around in too big a job is much worse than filling a small one to overflowing. Dream, aspire by all means; but do not ruin the life you must lead by dreaming pipe-dreams of the one you would like to lead. Make the most of what you have and are. Perhaps your trivial, immediate task is your one sure way of proving your mettle. Do the thing near at hand, and great things will come to your hand to be done.

If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill Be a scrub in the valley--but be The best little scrub by the side of the rill; Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass, And some highway some happier make; If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass-- But the liveliest bass in the lake!

We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew, There's something for all of us here. There's big work to do and there's lesser to do, And the task we must do is the near.

If you can't be a highway then just be a trail, If you can't be the sun be a star; It isn't by size that you win or you fail-- Be the best of whatever you are!

_Douglas Malloch._

THE HOUSE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

This poem has as its keynote friendship and sympathy for other people. It is a paradox of life that by hoarding love and happiness we lose them, and that only by giving them away can we keep them for ourselves. The more we share, the more we possess. We of course find in other people weaknesses and sins, but our best means of curing these are through a wise and sympathetic understanding.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road, Where the race of men go by-- The men who are good and the men who are bad, As good and as bad as I. I would not sit in the scorner's seat, Or hurl the cynic's ban;-- Let me live in a house by the side of the road And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road, By the side of the highway of life, The men who press with the ardor of hope, The men who are faint with the strife. But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears-- Both parts of an infinite plan;-- Let me live in my house by the side of the road And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead And mountains of wearisome height; And the road passes on through the long afternoon And stretches away to the night. But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice, And weep with the strangers that moan, Nor live in my house by the side of the road Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road Where the race of men go by-- They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong, Wise, foolish--so am I. Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat Or hurl the cynic's ban?-- Let me live in my house by the side of the road And be a friend to man.

_Sam Walter Foss._

From "Dreams in Homespun."

FOUR THINGS

What are the qualities of ideal manhood? Various people have given various answers to this question. Here the poet states what qualities he thinks indispensable.

Four things a man must learn to do If he would make his record true: To think without confusion clearly; To love his fellow-men sincerely; To act from honest motives purely; To trust in God and Heaven securely.

_Henry Van Dyke._

From "Collected Poems."

IF

The central idea of this poem is that success comes from self-control and a true sense of the values of things. In extremes lies danger. A man must not lose heart because of doubts or opposition, yet he must do his best to see the grounds for both. He must not be deceived into thinking either triumph or disaster final; he must use each wisely--and push on. In all things he must hold to the golden mean. If he does, he will own the world, and even better, for his personal reward he will attain the full stature of manhood.

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master; If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two imposters just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them; "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings--nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

_Rudyard Kipling._

From "Rudyard Kipling's Verse, 1885-1918."

INVICTUS

Triumph in spirit over adverse conditions is the keynote of this poem of courage undismayed. It rings with the power of the individual to guide his own destiny.

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

_William Ernest Henley._

IT COULDN'T BE DONE