Section: «Poems»

Verse (ancient Greek ὁ στίχος — row, structure), a term in versification used in several meanings: artistic speech organized by division into rhythmically commensurate segments; poetry in the narrow sense; in particular, it implies the properties of versification of a particular tradition ("antique verse", "Akhmatova's verse", etc.); a line of poetic text organized according to a certain rhythmic pattern ("My uncle of the most honest rules").

The Happiest Days

You do not know it, little man,In your summer coat of tanAnd your legs bereft of hoseAnd your peeling, sunburned nose,With a stone bruise on your..

© Edgar Albert Guest

When Pa Counts

Pa's not so very big or brave; he can't lift weights like Uncle Jim;His hands are soft like little girls'; most anyone could wallop him.Ma weighs a..

© Edgar Albert Guest

The Mother's Question

When I was a boy, and it chanced to rain,Mother would always watch for me;She used to stand by the window pane,Worried and troubled as she could..

© Edgar Albert Guest

As It Is

I might wish the world were better,I might sit around and sighFor a water that is wetterAnd a bluer sort of sky.There are times I think the..

© Edgar Albert Guest

Reflection

You have given me riches and ease,You have given me joys through the years,I have sat in the shade of your trees,With the song of your birds in my..

© Edgar Albert Guest

Life's Slacker

The saddest sort of death to dieWould be to quit the game called lifeAnd know, beneath the gentle sky,You'd lived a slacker in the strife.That..

© Edgar Albert Guest

It's A Boy

The doctor leads a busy life, he wages war with death;Long hours he spends to help the one who's fighting hard for breath;He cannot call his time his..

© Edgar Albert Guest

The Friendly Greeting

Oh, we have friends in England, and we have friends in France,And should we have to travel there through some strange circumstance,Undaunted we..

© Edgar Albert Guest

Why We Fight

This is the thing we fight:A cry of terror in the night;A ship on work of mercy bent—A carrier of the sick and maimed—Beneath the cruel waters..

© Edgar Albert Guest

A Father's Wish

What do I want my boy to be?Oft is the question asked of me,And oft I ask it of myself-What corner, niche or post or shelfIn the great hall of life..

© Edgar Albert Guest

The Things That Make A Soldier Great

The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,To face the flaming cannon's mouth, nor ever question why,Are lilacs by a little porch..

© Edgar Albert Guest

I'D Rather Be A Failure

I'd rather be a failure than the man who's never tried;I'd rather seek the mountain-top than always stand aside.Oh, let me hold some lofty dream and..

© Edgar Albert Guest

When Mother's Sewing Buttons On

When mother's sewing buttons onTheir little garments, one by one,I settle down contented thereAnd watch her in her rocking chair.She's at the task..

© Edgar Albert Guest

The Blue Flannel Shirt

I am eager once more to feel easy,I'm weary of thinking of dress;I'm heartily sick of stiff collars,And trousers the tailor must press.I'm eagerly..

© Edgar Albert Guest

When Pa Comes Home

When Pa comes home, I'm at the door,An' then he grabs me off the floorAn' throws me up an' catches meWhen I come down, an' then, says he:'Well, how'd..

© Edgar Albert Guest

Stuck

I'm up against it day by day,My ignorance is distressing;The things I don't know on the wayI'm busily confessing.Time was I used to think I knewSome..

© Edgar Albert Guest

A Toast To Happiness

To happiness I raise my glass,The goal of every human,The hope of every clan and classAnd every man and woman.The daydreams of the urchin there,The..

© Edgar Albert Guest

The Scoffer

If I had lived in Franklin's time I'm most afraid that I,Beholding him out in the rain, a kite about to fly,And noticing upon its tail the barn..

© Edgar Albert Guest

My Books And I

My books and I are good old pals:My laughing books are gay,Just suited for my merry moodsWhen I am wont to play.Bill Nye comes down to joke with..

© Edgar Albert Guest

The Home-Town

Some folks leave home for moneyAnd some leave home for fame,Some seek skies always sunny,And some depart in shame.I care not what the reasonMen..

© Edgar Albert Guest

Care-Free Youth

The skies are blue and the sun is outand the grass is green and softAnd the old charm's back in the apple treeand it calls a boy aloft;And the same..

© Edgar Albert Guest

I

Nobody hates me more than I;No enemy have I to-dayThat I so bravely must defy;There are no foes along my way,However bitter they may be,So powerful..

© Edgar Albert Guest

People Like Him

People liked him, not becauseHe was rich or known to fame;He had never won applauseAs a star in any game.His was not a brilliant style,His was not a..

© Edgar Albert Guest

Gratitude

Be grateful for the kindly friends that walk along your way;Be grateful for the skies of blue that smile from day to day;Be grateful for the health..

© Edgar Albert Guest

Lord, Make Me A Regular Man

This I would like to be- braver and bolder,Just a bit wiser because I am older,Just a bit kinder to those I may meet,Just a bit manlier taking..

© Edgar Albert Guest