|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE WAY TO BE HAPPY, by GRACE DENIO LITCHFIELD Poet's Biography
First Line: Never to want what one may not have
Last Line: The now to the what-might-have-been.
Subject(s): Happiness; Joy; Delight
First Line: Never to want what one may not have
Last Line: The now to the what-might-have-been.
Subject(s): Happiness; Joy; Delight
NEVER to want what one may not have—
Always to want what one may.
Never to long for the love that is lost,
Nor by night to remember the day.
To be fonder of winter than summer or spring,
To be fonder of leaves than of flowers.
To be fonder of toil than of riches and rest,
And of pain than of pleasureful hours.
To demand nothing more of the heart one loves best,
Than the least one would grant to one's foe.
To ask no return for the gift of one's all,
Save the loan of a heartache or so.
To believe there are purpose and beauty in woe.
To believe that to fail is to win.
To stand in Hope's graveyard alone, and prefer
The Now to the What-might-have-been.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
THE STUDY OF HAPPINESS by KENNETH KOCH
SO MUCH HAPPINESS by NAOMI SHIHAB NYE
CROWD CONDITIONS by JOHN ASHBERY
I WILL NOT BE CLAIMED by MARVIN BELL
THE BOOK OF THE DEAD MAN (#21): 1. ABOUT THE DEAD MAN'S HAPPINESS by MARVIN BELL
A BIRTHDAY SONG by GRACE DENIO LITCHFIELD