Words of Wisdom: Don't Quit

I first discovered this poem while reading The Book of Virtues edited by William J. Bennett. It's one of the few poems that I have committed to memory (ask my directors - I have horrible memorization skills._ There is some controversy over who wrote it, but whether it was Edgar G. Guest or an unknown, these uplifting words of wisdom helped carried me through many low points. Hopefully it will do the same for you.

Don't Quit

When Things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and debts are high,
And you want to Smile but 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 everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he'd stuck it out,
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up,
When he might 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,
The silver tint of 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 mustn't quit

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