Encouragement Poems

From Within

 

There's no defeat in life

Save from within,

Unless you're beaten there

You're bound to win!

 

Author Unknown

Erasers

 

Erasers are the nicest things!

Of that there is no doubt.

We write wrong words. A few quick swipes -

And big mistakes fade out.

 

And you will find erasers,

Of a very different kind,

Extremely helpful, if you will try

To bear these facts in mind:

 

When you bump someone in a crowd,

And almost knock her down,

A soft "I'm sorry!" may bring smiles

And rub out that old frown.

Apologies, invariably,

Obliterate mistakes;

And three small words, "I love you!"

Can erase the worst heartaches.

 

Author Unknown

Defeat

No one is beat till he quits,

No one is through till he stops,

No matter how hard Failure hits,

No matter how often he drops,

 A fellow's not down till he lies

In the dust and refuses to rise.

 

Fate can slam him and bang him around,

And batter his frame till he's sore,

But she never can say that he's downed

While he bobs up serenely for more.

A fellow's not dead till he dies,

Nor beat till no longer he tries.

 

Edgar Guest

Giving

If we give love and sympathy

Even to those who hate us

We fill them so with mystery

They know not how to rate us.

Many Things

O, there be many things

That seem right fair, below, above;

But sure not one amount them all

Is half so sweet as love.

 

Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Most Vital Thing In Life

When you feel like saying something

That you know you will regret,

Or keenly feel an insult

Not quite easy to forget,

That's the time to curb resentment

And maintain a mental peace,

For when your mind is tranquil

All your ill-thoughts simply cease.

 

It is easy to be angry

When defrauded or defiled,

To be peeved and disappointed

If your wishes are denied;

But to win a worthwhile battle

Over selfishness and spite,

You must learn to keep strict silence

Though you know you're in the right.

 

So keep your mental balance

When confronted by a foe,

Be it enemy in ambush,

Or some danger that you know.

If you are poised and tranquil

When all around is strife,

Be assured that you have mastered

The most vital thing in life.

 

Grenville Kleiser

 

 

Worthwhile

It is easy enough to be pleasant,

When life flows by like a song,

But the man worthwhile is one who will smile,

When everything goes dead wrong.

 

For the test of the heart is trouble,

And it always comes with the years,

And the smile that is worth the praises of earth

Is the smile that shines through tears.

 

It is easy enough to be prudent,

When nothing tempts you to stray,

When without or within no voice of sin

Is luring your soul away;

 

But it's only a negative virtue

Until it is tried by fire,

And the life that is worth the honor on earth

Is the one that resists desire.

 

By the cynic, the sad, the fallen,

Who had no strength for the strife,

The worlds' highway is cumbered today;

They make up the sum of life.

 

But the virtue that conquers passion,

And the sorrow that hides in a smile,

It is theses that are worth the homage on earth

For we find them but once in a while.

 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

A Smile

A smile costs nothing but gives much -

It takes but a moment, but the memory of it usually lasts forever.

None are so rich that can get along without it -

And none are so poor but that can be made rich by it.

It enriches those who receive

Without making poor those who give -

It creates sunshine in the home,

Fosters good will in business

And is the best antidote for trouble -

And yet it cannot be begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is of no value

Unless it is freely given away.

Some people are too busy to give you a smile

Give them one of yours -

For the good Lord knows that no one needs a smile so badly

As he or she who has no more smiles left to give.

 

Author Unknown

This Too, Shall Pass Away

Whate'er thou art, where'er thy footsteps stray,

Heed these wise words: This, too, shall pass away.

Oh, jewel sentence from the mine of truth!

What riches it contains for age or youth.

No stately epic, measured and sublime,

So comforts, or so counsels, for all time

As these few words. Go write them on your heart

And make them of your daily life a part.

Art thou in misery, brother? Then I pray

Be comforted! Thy grief shall pass away.

Art thou elated? Ah, be not too gay;

Temper thy joy; this, too, shall pass away.

Fame, glory, place and power,

They are but little baubles of the hour.

Thus, be not o'er proud,

Nor yet cast down; judge thou aright;

When skies are clear, expect the cloud;

In darkness, wait the coming light;

Whatever be thy fate today,

Remember, even this shall pass away!

 

Based on Old Indian Legend

Faith For Tomorrow

"Tomorrow, friend, will be another day,"

A seer wise of old was wont to say

To him who came at eventide, in grief,

Because the day had borne no fruitful sheaf.

 

O Lord of Life, that each of us might learn

From vain todays and yesterdays to turn,

To face the future with a hope newborn

That what we hope for cometh with the morn!

 

Thomas Curtis Clark

On File

If an unkind word appears,

File the thing away.

If some novelty in jeers,

File the thing away,

If some clever little bit

Of a shape and pointed wit,

Carrying a sting with it -

File the thing away.

 

If some bit of gossip come,

File the thing away.

Scandalously spicy crumb,

File the thing away.

If suspicion comes to you

That your neighbor isn't true

Let me tell you what to do -

File the thing away.

 

Do this for a little while,

Then go out and burn the file.

 

John Kendrick Bangs

Giving and Forgiving

What makes life worth the living

Is our giving and forgiving;

Giving tiny bits of kindness

That will leave a joy behind us,

And forgiving bitter trifles

That the right word often stifles,

For the little things are bigger

Than we often stop to figure.

What makes life worth the living

Is our giving and forgiving.

How To Forget

If you were busy being kind,

Before you knew it, you would find

You'd soon forget to think 'twas true

That someone was unkind to you.

 

If you were busy being glad

And cheering people who are sad,

Although your heart might ache a bit,

You'd soon forget to notice it.

 

If you were busy doing good,

And doing just the best you could,

You'd not have time to blame some man

Who's doing just the best he can.

 

If you were busy being right,

You'd find yourself too busy quite

To criticize your neighbor long

Because he's busy being wrong.

 

Rebecca Foresman

Worries

Take yesterday's worries and sort them all out

And you'll wonder whatever you worried about.

Look back, at the cares that once furrowed your brow,

I fancy you'll smile at most of them now.

They seemed terrible then, but they really were not,

For once out of the woods, all the fears are forgot.

 

Author Unknown

 

 

One Year to Live

If I had but one year to live;

One year to help; one year to give;

One year to love; one year to bless;

One year of better things to stress;

One year to sing; one year to smile;

To brighten earth a little while;

I think that I would spend each day,

In just the very self-same way

That I do now. For from afar

The call may come to cross the bar

At any time, and I must be

Prepared to meet eternity.

So if I have a year to live,

Or just a day in which to give

A pleasant smile, a helping hand,

A mind that tries to understand

A fellow-creature when in need,

'Tis one with me, - I take no heed;

But try to live each day He sends

To serve my gracious Master's end.

 

Mary Davis Reed

Prayer For Strength

Though I should be maligned by those

I trust, let not my spirit be

Broken and bowed, but may the throes

Of suffering set me free

From pettiness and that desire

Which goads one to retaliate;

With patience I would quench the fire

Of vengeance, ere it be too late.

 

And in defeat may I cast out

The moods of envy and despair,

And from my heart, Lord, I would rout

All bitterness. This is my prayer.

 

Margaret E. Bruner

Lean On Him

Oh, face to face with trouble,

Friend, I have often stood,

To learn that pain hath sweetness,

To know that God is good.

 

Arise and meet the daylight,

Be strong and do your best,

With honest heart and a childlike trust

That God will do the rest.

 

Margaret E. Sangster

 

Rest

Are you very weary? Rest a little bit.

In some quiet corner, fold your hands and sit.

Do not let the trails that have grieved you all the day

Haunt this quiet corner; drive them all away!

Let your heart grow empty of every thought unkind

That peace may hover round you, and joy may fill your mind.

Count up all your blessings, I'm sure they are not few,

That the dear Lord daily just bestows on you.

Soon you'll feel so rested, glad you stopped a bit,

In this quiet corner, to fold your hands and sit.

 

Pain

Why must I be hurt?

Suffering and despair,

Cowardice and cruelty,

Envy and injustice,

All of these hurt.

 

Grief and terror,

Loneliness and betrayal

And the agony of loss or death -

All these things hurt.

 

Why must those who love generously,

Live honorably, feel deeply

All that is good - and beautiful

Be so hurt,

While selfish creatures

Go unscathed?

That is why -

Because they can feel.

 

Hurt is the price to pay for feeling.

Pain is not accident,

Nor punishment, nor mockery

By some savage god.

Pain is part of growth.

 

The more we grow

The more we feel -

The more we feel - the more we suffer,

We must also feel the lack of it -

Those who glimpse heaven

Are bound to sight hell.

 

To have felt Love and Honor,

Courage and Ecstasy

Is worth - any price.

And so - since hurt is the price

Of Larger living, I will not

Haste pain, nor try to escape it.

 

Instead I will try to meet it

Bravely, bear it proudly:

Not as a cross, or a misfortune, but an

Opportunity, a privilege, a challenge - to the God that gropes within me. 

 

Elsie Robinson

Hope Is the Thing with Feathers

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all.

 

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

 

I've heart it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

 

Emily Dickinson

 

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the moldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

 

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past,

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast

And the days are dark and dreary.

 

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down on green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; they rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

 

My Evening Prayer

If I have wounded any soul to-day,

If I have caused one foot to go astray,

If I have walked in my own willful way 

Good Lord, forgive!

 

If I have uttered idle words or vain,

If I have turned aside from want or pain,

Lest I myself should suffer through the strain -

Good Lord, forgive!

 

If I have craved for joys that are not mine,

If I have let my wayward heart repine,

Dwelling on things of earth, not things divine -

Good Lord, forgive!

 

If I have been perverse, or hard, or cold,

If I have longed for shelter in Thy fold,

When Thou hast given me some part to hold -

God Lord, forgive!

 

Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee,

forgive the secret sins I do not see,

That which I know not, Father, teach Thou me -

Help me to live.

 

Charles H. Garbriel

 

 

A Prayer for Every Day

Make me too brave to lie or be unkind.

Make me too understanding, too, to mind

The little hurts companions give, and friends,

The careless hurts that no one quite intends.

 

Make me too thoughtful to hurt others so.

Help me to know

The inmost hearts of those for whom I care,

Their secret wishes, all the loads they bear,

 

That I may add my courage to their own.

May I make lonely folks feel less alone,

And happier ones a little happier yet.

May I forget

 

What ought to be forgotten; and recall,

Unfailing, all

That ought be recalled, each kindly thing,

Forgetting what might sting.

 

To all upon my way,

Day after day,

Let me be joy, be hope! Let me life sing!

 

 

Mary Carolyn Davies

A New Leaf

He came to my desk with quivering lip -

The lesson was done.

"Dear Teacher, I want a new leaf," he said,

"I have spoiled this one."

I took the old leaf' stained and blotted,

And gave him a new one all unspotted,

And onto his sad eyes smiled,

"Do better, now, my child."

 

I went to the throne with a quivering soul -

The old year was done.

"Dear Father, have you a new leaf for me?

I have spoiled this one."

He took the old leaf, stained and blotted,

And into my sad heart smiled,

"Do better, now, my child."

 

Kathleen Wheeler

 

 

New Every Morning

This I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning:

great is your faithfulness.

 

Lamentations 3:21 - 23

 

The Light

 

Even in the uttermost depths of the darkness,

I see before me your light of hope,

your light of faith,

and your light of love

burning deep within me,

Giving me

an unspeakable,

peaceful,

assurance,

knowing you will perform

what you have spoken.

 

Kathy Troccoli