Known as “The People’s Poet“, Edgar Guest wrote ” Keep Going ” in 1921. He faced criticism and scored a few failures, despite publishing over twenty books and writing over 11,000 poems in his lifetime. To many, he is a success, immortalized by his own persistence.
While I have no idea what life was like in 1921, I find his words to ring relevant; may you also.
“Keep Going” written by Edgar Guest
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
And the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
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 queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns 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.Often the goal is nearer than it seems
To a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up when he
Might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.Success is failure turned inside out,
– Edgar Guest “Keep Going” Published in 1921 (direct link)
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit.
It’s when things seem worst that
You musn’t quit.
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