Sunday, June 17, 2012

A BETTER MIEN


Editor's note: "Good humor is habit-forming, but sometimes it takes a little forced practice until you become addicted," Dad wrote as the introduction to this poem.


Smile all the smiles you can today,
Don't save them till tomorrow;
For, any hour along the way,
You may encounter sorrow.


Grin all the grins that you can show
To fellow men this morning;
For tragedy can strike, you know,
Without a minute's warning.


Chuckle all the chuckles you
Can muster, though you're battered,
As if to keep on smiling through
Was the only thing that mattered.


We never know what Fate will bring,
Or what may be impending,
But still, we can't plan everything
As if the world were ending.


The purpose of my little verse
Is not to scare or frighten;
But I suggest you could do worse
Than have your bearing brighten.


Make the most of every day,
And everything that's in it;
Don't let bad humor waste away
A single precious minute!


--Acres of Verse (1994)

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