Shepherdstown Register

Don't give up though this world is so trying,
In this world I've gained my knowledge,
And for it I've had to pay:
Though I never went to College
Yet I've heard the poet say:
Life is like the mighty ocean,
Rolling on from day to day,
Men are vessels launched upon it,
Sometimes wrecked and cast away.
Many a bright good-hearted fellow,
Many a noble minded man,
Finds himself in waters shallow,
Then assist him if you can.
Some succeed in every turning,
Fortune favors every scheme:
Others, too, though more deserving,
Have to pull against the stream.
If the wind is in your favor,
And you weather every squall,
Think of those whose luckless labor
Never get fair winds at all—
Working hard, contented, willing,
Struggling through life's ocean wide;
Not a friend and not a shilling,
Pulling hard against the tide.
Don't give up to foolish sorrow,
Let it keep you in good cheer;
Brighter days may come to-morrow,
If you try and persevere.
Darkest nights will have a morning,
Though the sky be overcast.
Longest lanes will have a turning,
And the tide will turn at last.