Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE TOWN OF NOGOOD, by W. E. PENNY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE TOWN OF NOGOOD, by                    
First Line: My friend, have you heard of the town of nogood
Last Line: And live up to it each day.


MY FRIEND, have you heard of the town of Nogood,
On the banks of the River Slow,
Where blooms the Waitawhile flower fair,
Where the Sometimeorother scents the air,
And the soft Goeasies grow?

It lies in the Valley of Whatstheuse,
In the Province of Letterslide.
That Tiredfeeling is native there,
It's the home of the reckless Idontcare,
Where the Giveitups abide.

It stands at the bottom of Lazyhill,
And is easy to reach, I declare;
You've only to fold up your hands and glide
Down the slope of Weakwill's toboggan slide
To be landed quickly there.

The town is as old as the human race
And it grows with the flight of years.
It is wrapped in the fog of idlers' dreams,
Its streets are paved with discarded schemes,
And sprinkled with useless tears.

The Collegebred fool and the Richman's heir
Are plentiful there, no doubt.
The rest of its crowd are a motley crew,
With every class except one in view --
The Foolkiller is barred out.

The town of Nogood is all hedged about
By the mountains of Despair.
No sentinel stands on its gloomy walls,
No trumpet to battle and triumph calls,
For cowards alone are there.

My friend, from the dead-alive town Nogood
If you would keep far away,
Just follow your duty through good and ill,
Take this for your motto, "I can, I will,"
And live up to it each day.





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