Poetry Project - Keep a-Goin'

I am a big fan of perseverance (It's how I got through grad school. Ha!), and I've loved this poem since childhood. Even though literary critics don't consider Frank Stanton one of the "great" poets (He made his career as a newspaper man - gasp!-, though he was named poet laureate of Georgia in 1925.), I personally think this is a great poem.


Keep a-Goin'
by Frank L. Stanton

If you strike a thorn or rose,
Keep a-goin'!
If it hails or if it snows,
Keep a-goin'!
'Taint no use to sit an' whine
When the fish ain't on your line;
Bait your hook an' keep a-tryin' -
Keep a-goin'!

When the weather kills your crop,
Keep a-goin'!
Though 'tis work to reach the top,
Keep a-goin'!
S'pose you're out o' ev'ry dime,
Gittin' broke ain't any crime,
Tell the world you're feelin' prime -
Keep a-goin'!

When it looks like all is up,
Keep a-goin'!
Drain the sweetness from the cup,
Keep a-goin'!
See the wild birds on the wing,
Hear the bells that sweetly ring,
When you feel like sighin', sing -
Keep a-goin'!