When Things Go Wrong

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 everyone of us sometimes learns,

and many folks turn about

When they might have won if they stuck it out.

Don’t give up through the pace seems slow

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is to nearer than it seems

When you’re faint and faltering;

Often strugglers have given up

When they might have captured the victor’s cup;

And they learn too late when the night came down,

How close they were to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint in the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It might be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit —

It’s when things seem worst

that you must not quit.

--Michael Josephson, WhatWillMatter.com