Friday, January 27, 2012

The Ridiculous Optimist

This from my great-grandmother Winkler's poetry book © 1907:

The Ridiculous Optimist

There was once a man who smiled

…Because the day was bright,

…Because he slept at night,

…Because God gave him sight

To gaze upon his child;

…Because his little one,

…Could leap and laugh and run;

…Because the distant sun

Smiled on the earth he smiled.
-
He smiled because the sky

…Was high above his head,

…Because the rose was red,

…Because the past was dead!

He never wondered why

…The Lord had blundered so

…That all things have to go

…The wrong way, here below

The over-arching sky.
-
He toiled, and still was glad

…Because the air was free,

…Because he loved, and she

…That claimed his love and he

Shared all the joys they had!

…Because the grasses grew,

…Because the sweet winds blew,

…Because that he could hew

And hammer, he was glad.
-
Because he lived he smiled,

…And did not look ahead

…With bitterness or dread,

…But nightly sought his bed

As calmly as a child.
…
And people called him mad

…For being always glad
…
With such things as he had,

And shook their heads and smiled.
~ Samuel Ellsworth Kiser

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Your grandfathers poetry is amazing. Thank you for sharing. I bought one of your handbound journals today. I also write poetry and a night time inspiration each night in Instagram...Poet51 I am excited to start my journal as a vision journal for myself. I bought the larger one. Thank you for such beautiful work!!