A reminder while doing some reflecting on a return. One of my associates obitary reminded me to not quit. I think he would have been thrilled to know that I have a son who is 2 and half now.
"All his life, he encouraged family and friends to persevere through challenging times —“stick-toit-iveness,” he called it—and adopted the poem“Don’t Quit” as a personal credo."
poem “Don’t Quit”
Don't Quit By Edgar A. Guest
Don't Quit
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 everyone 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 when 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, you must not quit.
Structure and Style: Written in rhymed quatrains with a regular rhythm, the form supports its message of persistence through predictability. The meter is mostly iambic tetrameter, typical of early 20th-century popular verse. This formal consistency aligns with Guest’s habitual use of conventional structures across his body of work.
Place in Author’s Oeuvre: Among Guest’s extensive output of optimistic, morale-boosting verse, this poem stands out for its sustained focus on endurance. While many of his works celebrate everyday life, this one zeroes in on crisis and personal fortitude. It reflects his broader tendency to address common struggles with reassuring simplicity.
Historical Context: Composed during a period when industrialization and economic instability affected many Americans, the poem speaks to early 20th-century values of self-reliance and grit. It mirrors societal expectations of stoic perseverance, particularly during the interwar and Depression years.
Less-Discussed Angle: While often read as a universal call to persist, the poem subtly promotes a bootstrap ideology that overlooks structural barriers. It assumes effort alone leads to success, a notion common in Guest’s time but less persuasive in contemporary discourse. This perspective contrasts with modern critiques of meritocracy.
Engagement with Contemporary Concerns: Though pre-dating late modern formal experimentation, its didacticism and clarity contrast sharply with the fragmentation and irony typical of post-1900 poetry. Its persistence in popular culture reflects ongoing cultural reliance on motivational rhetoric, despite shifts in literary taste.
This poem is now in the public domain.
Edgar Guest (1881 - 1959) was born in England, but moved with his family to Detroit, Michigan, when he was ten years old. He worked for more than sixty years at the Detroit Free Press, publishing his first poem at the age of seventeen, then going on to become a reporter and columnist whose work was featured in hundreds of newspapers around the country. Edgar is said to have written some 11,000 poems during his lifetime, most of it sentimental, short, upbeat verse. Critics often derided his work, but America adored him. He was known as the "People's Poet," served as Michigan's poet laureate, hosted a long-running radio show and TV show, and published more than twenty books.
It's all about perseverance, tenacity, determination and will-power to not to give up - especially when the things are going wrong, and when one is seemingly swimming against the tide. This poem reminds us that there are seeds of success in every failure, and that's why we mustn't quit.Sep 1, 2014
https://www.facebook.com/poeticcalamity/posts/dont-quit-by-edgar-guest/996729582464867/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y7k7oigI_Y
https://www.barclayfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Charles-Michael-Larocque?obId=28076935
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3dNodLbdiY
A motivational poem by Edgar Albert Guest - Don't Quit.
Music - Interstellar Movie (Soundtrack)
Speaker - Chris Lines
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 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 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 so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
