Tag: optimism

To Melancholy by John K. Bangs

To Melancholy

The last invitation anybody would accept is “Come, let us weep together.” If we keep melancholy at our house, we should be careful to have it under lock and key, so that no one will observe it.

  Melancholy,
  Melancholy,
  I’ve no use for you, by Golly!
  Yet I’m going to keep you hidden
  In some chamber dark, forbidden,
  Just as though you were a prize, sir,
  Made of gold, and I a miser—
  Not because I think you jolly,
          Melancholy!
  Not for that I mean to hoard you,
  Keep you close and lodge and board you
  As I would my sisters, brothers,
  Cousins, aunts, and old grandmothers,
  But that you shan’t bother others
  With your sniffling, snuffling folly,
          Howling,
          Yowling,
  Melancholy.

John Kendrick Bangs.

Friends of Mine by James W. Foley

Friends of Mine

Good-morning, Brother Sunshine,
    Good-morning, Sister Song,
  I beg your humble pardon
    If you’ve waited very long.
  I thought I heard you rapping,
    To shut you out were sin,
  My heart is standing open,
    Won’t you
      walk
        right
          in?

  Good-morning, Brother Gladness,
    Good-morning, Sister Smile,
  They told me you were coming,
    So I waited on a while.
  I’m lonesome here without you,
    A weary while it’s been,
  My heart is standing open,
    Won’t you
      walk
        right
          in?

  Good-morning, Brother Kindness,
    Good-morning, Sister Cheer,
  I heard you were out calling,
    So I waited for you here.
  Some way, I keep forgetting
    I have to toil or spin
  When you are my companions,
    Won’t you
      walk
        right
          in?

James W. Foley.

Nothing is Impossible ~ Today’s Thought

“Impossible is a word found only in the dictionary of fools.” ~ Napoleon

The Rainy Day ~ Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

THE RAINY DAY

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.”

Excerpt From
The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Opportunity ~ Poem by

Opportunity

With doubt and dismay you are smitten
    You think there’s no chance for you, son?
  Why, the best books haven’t been written
    The best race hasn’t been run,
  The best score hasn’t been made yet,
    The best song hasn’t been sung,
  The best tune hasn’t been played yet,
    Cheer up, for the world is young!

  No chance? Why the world is just eager
    For things that you ought to create
  Its store of true wealth is still meagre
    Its needs are incessant and great,

“It yearns for more power and beauty
    More laughter and love and romance,
  More loyalty, labor and duty,
    No chance—why there’s nothing but chance!

  For the best verse hasn’t been rhymed yet,
    The best house hasn’t been planned,
  The highest peak hasn’t been climbed yet,
    The mightiest rivers aren’t spanned,
  Don’t worry and fret, faint hearted,
    The chances have just begun,
  For the Best jobs haven’t been started,
    The Best work hasn’t been done.

Berton Braley

Excerpt From
It Can Be Done / Poems of Inspiration