Don’t Quit

“Weeks later, after so much activity, I can finally breathe again,” the man mumbled to himself before he realized that he was sorely mistaken. Monday morning rolls around and the cycle resets itself.

Do you ever feel that way? For that brief moment, you think you can breathe, when suddenly the reality of all you still have to accomplish crashes down on you, and you stop in your tracks and say … oh. my. gosh. Even so, in moments like these, when life is pressing down, I often recall an old poem my mom had tacked to our bulletin board in the kitchen. It was an old laminated piece of paper and I have never forgotten the words. As the years have passed, this poem has inspired me to keep moving forward and not to let things overwhelm me.

Don’t Quit
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 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 seem so far;
so stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit – it’s when things seem worse,
that you must not quit.