Edgar Albert Guest Poems

Jes' the sort o' weather and jes' the sort of sky
Which seem to suit my fancy, with the white clouds driftin' by
On a sea o' smooth blue water. Oh, I ain't an egotist,
With an 'I' in all my thinkin', but I'm willin' to insist
...

Here's our story, page by page,
Happy youth and middle-age,
Smile and tear-drop, weal and woe
Such as all who live must know-
...

You are the fellow that has to decide
Whether you'll do it or toss it aside.
You are the fellow who makes up your mind
Whether you'll lead or will linger behind
...

One never knows
How far a word of kindness goes;
One never sees
How far a smile of friendship flees.
Down, through the years,
...

You think that the failures are many,
You think the successes are few,
But you judge by the rule of the penny,
And not by the good that men do.
...

'How much do babies cost?' said he
The other night upon my knee;
And then I said: 'They cost a lot;
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When sorrow comes, as come it must,
In God a man must place his trust.
There is no power in mortal speech
The anguish of his soul to reach,
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I think my country needs my vote,
I know it doesn't need my throat,
My lungs and larynx, too;
And so I sit at home at night
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My Pa can hit his thumbnail with a hammer and keep still;
He can cut himself while shaving an' not swear;
If a ladder slips beneath him an' he gets a nasty spill
...

IT doesn't seem a year ago that I was tumbling out of bed,
The icy steps that lead below at 1 a.m., barefoot, to tread,
And puttering round the kitchen stove, while chills ran up and down my form
As I stood there and waited for her bottled dinner to get warm;
...