Try, Try Again by T.H. Palmer

‘Tis a lesson you should heed,
If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try again;

Then your courage should appear,
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear
Try, try again;

Once or twice, though you should fail,
If you would at last prevail,
Try, try again;

If we strive, ’tis no disgrace
Though we do not win the race;
What should you do in the case?
Try, try again

If you find your task is hard,
Time will bring you your reward,
Try, try again

All that other folks can do,
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view:
Try, try again.

 

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Don’t Quit – anonymous

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
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 everyone 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 might 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 –
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.

 

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Kissing The Rod by James Whitcomb Riley

O heart of mine, we shouldn’t
…Worry so!
What we’ve missed of calm we couldn’t
…Have you know!
What we’ve met of stormy pain
And of sorrow’s driving rain,
We can better meet again,
…If it blow!

We have erred in that dark hour
…We have known,
When our tears fell with the shower,
…All alone! –
Were not shine and shower blent
As the gracious Master meant? –
Let us temper our content
…With His own.

For, we know not every morrow
…Can be sad;
So, forgetting all the sorrow
…We have had,
Let us fold away our fears,
And put by our foolish tears,
And through all the coming years
…Just be glad.

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The Dark Zone by Dennis Lange

I sailed out from the bay, and suddenly
I left the comfort that surrounded me,
A blanket warm, and with familiar scent
That softly hugged me close where’er I went. 

Gone were the harbor lights that guided me
Like stars do mariners upon the sea,
Except in that dark zone where hov’ring storm
Rakes them with wind and waves to wreak them harm. 

In such a darkness, I was rudely cast;
My peaceful passage thrust into the past.
So dark it was that memories of light
Were pale and dim, and like a sliver – slight. 

But I could not return, so faded glow
Was of no present use except to know
That once existed light and precious day,
And thus provide a spark on my dark way. 

But worse, far worse than melted memories
Was all the endless ink of sullen seas
That lay ahead without a flicker of relief
And hope and peace and joy stole like a thief. 

Now what’s a man to do in such a strait?
Sail the dark zone and in the sailing, wait –
Wait for the flicker that one day may flare,
That other men have found while sailing there.

—
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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2015.

 

 

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Three Miscellaneous Haiku by Dennis Lange

 

 

 

 

Hippopota-mess

My, oh my!
Hippopotami
Sleeping, lie.

——————–

 

Non-Rolling Stones

Chunks of rock.
Unable to roll,
Gather moss.

——————– 

 

 

The Beauty Of Keeping On

In the sun
Keep standing tall, no
Matter what.

 

——————–

Hippo – photo by Andre Mesker at
http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mggZ29O/hippopotamus

Stones – photo by Richard Dudley at
http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mflfLZq/Rock+Gathers+Moss

Keeping On – photo by Johnny Berg at
http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mjA0l20/Sunset+-+HDR

——————–

 

* The haiku I write are lines of 3-5-3 syllables instead of 5-7-5.

See Haiku article here for explanation, if needed: https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/haiku/

——————–

© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I’ve Had My Share by Dennis Lange

……………..I’ve Had My Share

 

I’ve had my share of trouble – death and woe

(Perhaps it never came like blizzard’s snow),

But I would wake at times to find ground white:

A blanket, even drifts, fell in the night.

When trouble came, a broom or shovel met

The need I had to keep my pathway yet.

So daily, if it fell, I had to cope

To keep on going and not lose my hope.

I take the whole: I think my life is grand;

I persevere, the wind and woe withstand,

And what once seemed to be a moment drear

Just melts away midst all the joy and cheer.

———————————————————

© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2014.

 

 

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For Those Who Fail by Joaquin Miller

              For Those Who Fail

“All honor to him who shall win the prize,”
The world has cried for a thousand years;
But to him who tries and fails and dies,
I give great honor and glory and tears.

O great is the hero who wins a name,
But greater many and many a time,
Some pale-faced fellow who dies in shame,
And lets God finish the thought sublime.

And great is the man with the sword undrawn,
And good is the man who refrains from wine;
But the man who fails and yet fights on,
Lo! he is the twin-born brother of mine!

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