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. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOMESDAY BOOK: DR. BURKE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: MRS. MERRITT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS WAR VERSE (1914) by EZRA POUND SPAIN IN AMERICA by GEORGE SANTAYANA TO MARK ANTHONY IN HEAVEN by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS |