Don't Quit

Brendan McMorrow

Mr. Barnes

+ English III

25 April 2013

Don’t Quit

Edgar A. Guest

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When 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 fellow 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 came down
How close he was to the golden crown. 

Success is failure turned inside out
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 mustn't quit. 

When I first heard this poem, I immediately thought of myself. There have been so many times in life that I have wanted to just quit whatever I was doing, whether it be writing an english essay or reading an english book. Or running a cross country race or basically anything that happened last year. Yet every time I have refused to let myself quit. I think the last stanza of the poem is especially relevant to me, because I have learned that no matter how bleak something may look, it too will pass. 

If

Brendan McMorrow

Mr. Barnes

+ English III

25 April 2013

If

Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

I am still not really sure who I am, which is why I like this poem so much. It is about being your own man, believing in yourself and having the courage to stand by your decisions. It helped me realize that I don’t need to worry about who I am, because I am me! As long as I have the courage to stand by my decisions and believe in myself that is all I really need. There have been times in my life when I did not have to courage to standup for myself, and whenever I am in that position I always think of this poem.