Poet: S. E. Kiser
The sun may have its troubles.
But it keeps the bright side out;
The lark may have misgivings,
But she hides away her doubt;
Poets praise the sun for shining
And the lark for never pining -
Man has joys from bird and planet, since they
"keep the bright side out."
The orchard pink with blossoms
Gladly puts its bright side out;
The lilacs have no trouble
That they ever grieve about,
And the world is prone to treasure
Up remembrances of pleasure
In the name of Him who ever tries to
"keep the bright side out."
Optimistic Poems
Poet: Unknown
Get all the good there is today,
Don't fret about to-morrow.
There's trouble 'round us all the tune,
What need is there to borrow?
Look on the bright side every time,
Don't waste your time repining
When any cloud looks dark and dull,
Turn out the silver lining.
Poet: Unknown
We are unsatisfied, and know not why;
We seek for the ideal of our dreams,
And strive to reach it builded by the beams
Of truth and faith. Setting our standard high,
We struggle on; but when the prize is nigh
We find that it eludes us, and it seems
To beckon onward, mocking with its gleams
Like some bright mirage in the eastern sky.
With eyes blind to the glory here below.
Our thoughts forever turned away from earth,
We see no beauty around us, and the worth
Hidden in humble things we never know.
We grope and pass unheeding on the way
The good that we are seeking day by day.
Poems Of Encouragement
Poet: Catherine Pulsifer
Gather 'round, my kin, for the time has come,
To celebrate Thanksgiving with laughter and fun.
The air is filled with excitement so grand,
As we reunite across this joyful land.
With open hearts and meaningful cheer,
We share gratitude for blessings near.
From table full of delights to memories bright,
Thanksgiving brings us together in pure delight.
Thanksgiving Poems
Poet: Reynale S Pickering
All things come right, and be it soon or late,
All things come right at last to compensate
For all the petty heartaches of today,
For all the little failures on our way.
And all our seeming sorrows it appears
Are really blessings in a mask of tears.
So if success be tardy at our call,
It is to test our courage, that is all.
And in the end each heart will seek its rest
Beside the one it always loved the best.
The darkest hour holds the brightest light.
And all things come right.
Christian Poems
Poet: Helen Hunt Jackson
One day at a time!
It's a wholesome rhyme;
A good one to live by,
A day at a time!
Poet: Unknown
A little more heart in the things we do,
And the sun will shine softer, the skies will be blue;
A little more heart in the words we say,
And the lives will be sweeter we live by the way;
A little more heart in the help that we lend.
And the chains will be stronger that binds friend to friend;
A little more heart in the toil that we take,
A little more striving for only love's sake,
A little more heart in life's song and its prayer.
And the roses will hide every ache and each care!
Poet: Unknown
I have so much to live for,
I can't give up just yet -
I'll face the world with courage
And not with vain regret.
Courage Poems
Poet: Charles Rufus Skinner
Open the door, let in the air;
The winds are sweet and the flowers are fair;
Joy is abroad in the world today,
If our door is wide, it may come this way -
Open the door!
Open the door, let in the sun;
He hath a smile for every one;
He hath made of the raindrops gold and gems,
He may change our tears to diadems -
Open the door!
Open the door of the soul; let in
Strong, pure thoughts which will banish sin;
They will grow and bloom with a grace divine.
And their fruit shall be sweeter than that of the vine -
Open the door!
Open the door of the heart; let in
Sympathy sweet for stranger and kin;
It will make the halls of the heart so fair
That angels may enter unaware -
Open the door!
Poet: Reynal Smith Pickering
Now open up the windows of the heart,
And let the sunshine penetrate the gloom;
Clear out the fears and doubts that grimly start
Like ghosts within the mind's dim haunted room.
Brush out the cobwebs that your malice wrought,
And sweep away the grudges that you bear;
Replace each petty and ungracious thought
With one that is forgiving, true and fair.
And when the task is finished, you will find
That happiness is destined to remain
Within the sunlit rooms of heart and mind,
And know your work has not been done in vain.
Poems About Happiness
Poet: Mary Frances Butts
Build a little fence of trust
Around today;
Fill the place with loving deeds
And therein stay;
Look not through the sheltering bars
Upon tomorrow;
God will help thee bear what comes
Of joy or sorrow.
Living Life Poem
Poet: F. D. Sherman
I heard a voice at evening softly say,
Bear not thy yesterday into tomorrow.
Nor load this week with last week's load of sorrow.
Lift all thy burdens as they come, nor try
To weigh the present with the by and by-
One step and then another, take thy way;
Live day by day.
Live day by day.
Though autumn leaves are withering round thy way
Walk in the sunshine. It is all for thee.
Push straight ahead, as long as thou canst see;
Dread not the winter whither thou mayest go,
But when It comes, be thankful for the snow.
Onward and upward. 'Look and smile and pray;
Live day by day.
Poet: E. McLain Fields
If you'll sing a song as you go along,
In the face of the real or fancied wrong,
In spite of the doubt, if you'll fight it out,
And show a heart that is brave and stout;
If you'll laugh at the jeers and refuse the tears.
You'll force the ever-reluctant cheers
That the world denies when a coward cries,
To give the man who bravely tries.
And you'll win success with a little song -
If you'll sing a song as you go along!
If you'll sing a song as you trudge along.
You'll see that the singing will make you strong.
And the heavy load and the rugged road
And the sting and the stripe of the tortuous goad
Will soar with the note that you set afloat;
That the beam will change to a trifling mote;
That the world is bad when you are sad.
And bright and beautiful when glad,
That all you need is a little song -
If you sing the song as you trudge along!
Poems About Laughter
Poet: Mary Frances Butt
Is it rainy, little flower?
Be glad of rain;
Too much sun would wither thee,
'Twill shine again;
The clouds are very thick, 'tis true.
But just behind them smiles the blue.
Art thou weary, tender heart?
Be glad of pain.
In sorrow sweetest things will grow
As flowers in rain;
God watches, and thou wilt have sun.
When clouds their perfect work have done.
Sunshine Poems
Poet: John Ruskin
Today
Unsullied comes to thee, new-bom;
Tomorrow is not thine.
The sun may cease to shine
For thee ere earth shall greet its mom.
Be earnest then, in thought and deed,
Nor fear approaching night;
Calm comes with evening light.
And hope and peace. Thy duty heed
Today.
Just For Today Poems
Poet Unknown
He left a load of anthracite
In front of a poor woman's door.
When the deep snow, frozen and white,
Wrapped street and square, mountain and moor.
That was his deed.
He did it well;
What was his creed?
I cannot tell.
He had great faith in loaves of bread
For hungry people, young and old,
And hope inspired, kind words he said
To those he sheltered from the cold.
For we must feed
As well as pray.
What was his creed?
I cannot say.
He put his trust in Heaven, and he
Worked well with hand and head;
And what he gave in charity
Sweetened his sleep and daily bread.
Let us take heed
For life is brief.
This was his creed,
This his belief.
Attitude Poems
Poet: Juniata Stafford
Put a bit of sunshine in the day;
Others need its cheer and so do you -
Need it most when outer sky's dull gray
Leaves the sunshine-making yours to do.
Give the day a streak of rosy dawn;
Give it, too, a touch of highest noon;
Make the ones about you wonder why
Sunset crimson should appear "so soon."
Sunshine-making is a blessed task;
Cheery hearts, like lovely, wide-blue sky,
Banish weary gloom and give fresh hope,
Check the rising tear or thoughtless sigh.
Put the golden sunshine in each day;
Others need the cheer that comes thro' you -
Need it most when outer sky's dull gray
Leaves the sunshine-making yours to do.
Poet Unknown
Little by little the world grows strong,
Fighting the battles of right and wrong;
Little by little the wrong gives way,
Little by little the right has sway;
Little by little all longing souls
Struggle up nearer the shining goals.
Poet: J. A. Edgerton
Scorn not the homely virtues. We are prone
To search through all the world for something new;
And yet sometimes old-fashioned things are best -
Old-fashioned work, old fashioned rectitude.
Old-fashioned honor and old-fashioned prayer,
Old-fashioned patience that can bide its time,
Old-fashioned firesides sacred from the world,
Old-fashioned satisfaction with enough.
Old-fashioned candor and simplicity.
Old-fashioned folks that practice what they preach.
Poet: George duMaurier
A little work, a little play
To keep us going - and so, good-day!
A little warmth, a little light
Of love's bestowing - and so, good-night!
A little fun to match the sorrow
Of each day's growing - and so, good-morrow!
by Margaret Of Navarre
Theee ounces are necessary, first of patience,
Then of repose and peace; of conscience
A pound entire is needful:
Of pastimes of all sorts, too,
Should be gathered as much as the hand can hold;
Of pleasant memory and of hope three good drachms
There must be at least. But they should moistened be
With a liquor made from true pleasures which rejoice the heart.
Then of love's magic drops a few -
But use them sparingly, for they may bring a flame
Which naught but tears can drown.
Grind the whole and mix therewith of merriment an ounce
To even. Yet all this may not bring happiness
Except in your orisons you lift your voice
To Him who holds the gift of health.
Life Journey Poems
Poet: Judge Walter Malone
They do me wrong who say I come no more.
When once I knock and fail to find you in;
For every day I stand outside your door
And bid you wait, and rise to fight and win.
Weep not for precious chances passed away,
Weep not for golden ages on the wane;
Each night I burn the records of the day,
At sunrise every soul is bom again.
Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped,
To vanished joys be blind and deaf and dumb;
My judgments seal the dead past with its dead,
But never bind a moment yet to come.
Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep;
I lend my arm to all who say "I can" ;
No shame-faced outcast ever sank so deep
But yet might rise and be again a man.
Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast?
Dost reel from righteous retribution's blow?
Then turn from blotted archives of the past
And find the future's page as white as snow.
Adversity Poems
Poet: E. A. Brinnstool
Be strong, my boy, and buckle in -
When disappointments come;
Choke down adversity and grin,
Don't act morose and glum.
Your heart received a knife-thrust there
Which wasn't in your plan.
But hold your head up in the air -
Be brave, and act the man.
What if the blow was cruel, lad?
What though it cuts you sore?
'Twas no worse than we all have had.
And there'll be dozens more.
Stand firm and true for what is right -
With God's help, lad, you can;
And when reverses come in sight,
Be brave, and act the man.
Disappointment Poems
Poet Unknown
Pluck wins! It always wins! though days be slow,
And nights be dark 'twixt days that come and go.
Still pluck will win; its average is sure,
He gains the prize who will the most endure;
Who faces issues; he who never shirks;
Who waits and watches, and who always works.
Poet Unknown
Ain't no use in grievin'
Over these hard times;
Ain't no use in weavin'
Of your mournful rhymes.
Ain't a bit o' good in it;
Neither bread nor wood in it;
But the way to do -
Roll your shirt sleeves higher up;
Loose the brakes and fire up -
Then, go steamin' through!
Poems About Life Struggles
Poet: Dr. Eliot
May every soul that touches mine
Be it the slightest contact - get therefrom some good,
Some little grace - one kindly thought.
One aspiration yet unfelt, one bit of courage
For the darkening sky, - one gleam of faith
To brave the thickening ills of life,
One glimpse of brighter skies beyond the gathering mists,
To make this life worth while
And heaven a surer heritage.
The new religion will not teach that character can be changed quickly.
It will not deal chiefly with sorrow and death, but with joy and life.
Poet: John Kenrick Bangs
If any round about me play.
And dance and sing in glad array.
And laugh and cheer.
May it be mine to see and hear.
If any toil at noble things.
And strive the higher levelings,
- To reach and win.
May it be mine to join therein.
And tears fall like the summer rain
From troubled skies.
May it be mine to sympathize.
In all that makes the round of life,
Be it of pleasure, peace or strife.
Joy or despair,
May I my proper burden bear.
Train Of Life Poem
Poet: Alice Cary
True worth is in being, not seeming,
In doing, each day that goes by,
Some little good; not in dreaming
Of great things to do by and by.
For whatever men say in blindness,
And spite of the fancies of youth.
There's nothing so kingly as kindness.
And nothing so royal as truth.
Kindness Poems
Poet: E. E. Hale
Open the door of your heart, my friend.
Heedless of class or creed,
When you hear the cry of a brother's voice.
The sob of a child in need.
All the fadeless flowers that bloom
In the realms of song and art
Are yours, if you'll only give them room:
Open the door of your heart.
To the shining heavens that o'er you bend
You need no map or chart,
But only the love the Master gave:
Open the door of your heart.
Poet: W. H. Wilson
Long live the man whose heart is fresh
Who smiles beneath the darkest skies;
Who to this weary world reveals
The humor that around us lies.
Poet: Whittier
As thou hast made thy world without,
Make thou more fair my world within;
Shine through its lingering clouds of doubt;
Rebuke its haunting shapes of sin;
Fill, brief or long, my granted span
Of life with love to thee and man;
Strike when thou wilt the hour of rest,
But let my last days be my best!
Poet Unknown
If you'd help the world a bit,
Do as you'd be done by:
If you'd help to brighten it.
Do as you'd be done by;
If you have a blessing, let
Someone share it; don't forget,
Selfishness will bring regret; -
Do as you'd be done by.
Poems About Helpings Others
Poet Unknown
For the right against the wrong.
For the weak against the strong.
For the poor who've waited long.
For the brighter age to be.
For the truth 'gainst superstition,
For the faith against tradition,
For the hope whose glad fruition,
Our waiting eyes shall see.
Poet Unknown
The calendar sparkles
With days that have brought
Some prize that was longed for
Some good that was sought.
High deeds happen daily,
Wide truths grow more clear,
And "each day is the best day
Of somebody's year."
Each day finds a hero,
Each day helps a saint,
Each day brings to some one
A joy without taint;
Though it may not be my turn
Or yours that is near -
"Each day is the best day
Of somebody's year."
Good Morning Poems
Poet Unknown
Life is a work - begin it,
Life is a battle - win it.
Life is a pure heart - shield it.
Life is a sceptre - wield it.
Life is God's lesson - learn it,
Death is His good rest - earn it.
Poet: George L. Banks
I live for those who love me.
Whose hearts are kind and true,
For the heaven that smiles above me,
And awaits my spirit, too;
For the human ties that bind me.
For the task by God assigned me.
For the bright hopes left behind me,
And the good that I can do.
I live to learn their story,
Who suffered for my sake;
To emulate their glory,
And follow in their wake;
Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages,
The noble of all ages,
Whose deeds crown History’s pages,
And Time’s great volume make.
I live to hail that season,
By gifted minds foretold,
When man shall live by reason,
And not alone by gold;
When man to man united,
And every wrong thing righted,
The whole world shall be lighted
As Eden was of old.
I live for those who love me.
For those who know me true.
For the heaven that smiles above me,
And awaits my spirit, too;
For the cause that lacks assistance
For the wrong that needs resistance.
For the future in the distance.
And the good that I can do.
Poet: Unknown
A little less play,
A little more done,
A little less say
A little more won.
A little less dare,
A little more head,
A little less air
A little more said.
Poetry About Words
Poet: Richard Burton
If you have gracious words to say
Oh, give them to our hearts to-day,
But if your words will cause us sorrow,
Pray keep them till the last to-morrow.
High thoughts and noble in all lands
Help me: my soul is fed by such.
But ah, the touch of life and hands,
The human touch!
Warm, vital, close, life's symbols dear,
These need I most, and now, and here.
Poet Unknown
It's better sometime to be blind
To the faults of some poor fellow being,
Than to view them with visions unkind.
When there's good we ought to be seeing.
It's better sometime to be dumb,
Than to speak just to be criticizing,
Though it seems to be given to some
To recall traits both mean and despising.
It's better sometime to be deaf,
Than to hear only lying and pander,
For there's nothing so low as theft
Or a good name destroyed by slander.
