By The Flapper Press Poetry Café:
The Flapper Press Poetry Café continues a series of articles about favorite lines of poetry and the poets who wrote them. We’re reaching out to poets, writers, and lovers of poetry to submit their favorite lines of poetry and tell us why you love them.
Check out our submission guidelines and send us your favorites!
We'll feature your submission sometime this year on our site!
This week, our submission comes from Dr. Dennis B. Morgan.
It Couldn’t Be Done
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
From Dr. Dennis B. Morgan:
I was raised as a middle class boy from a small town in Missouri who had a dream of becoming a doctor, which I did, specializing in mental health.This was God's calling for me which made me a natural for this profession. Only with God and my perseverance could I ever have achieved this goal.
I have lived my life inspired and motivated by this poem. While significant others weren't always able to support me, financially or emotionally, I found that the message this poem conveys, gave me the hope that in reality IT CAN BE DONE. I aligned myself with good people who gave me jobs to pay my tuition and who also believed in my talents.
Known as the "People's Poet," Edgar Albert Guest was an American poet, born in England. His first poem was published by in 1898 by the Detroit Free Press where he spent his early career working as a copy boy and reporter. With over 11,000 poems syndicated in 300 newspapers and books, his positive personality and inspirational poems led to a popular radio show and television series, his work still featured in contemporary publications. His poem, "It Couldn't Be Done" was recited by actor Edris Elba for the BBC's Sport Personality of the Year award in 2012.
To read more about Edgar Albert Guest and his poetry:
Dr. Dennis B. Morgan, renowned as a minister and psychoanalysis/psychologist with more than 44 years of excellence in his field, was also a diplomate of the American Board of Psychotherapy and Psychopharmacology. He lives in Stover, Missouri, a city with a population of a little over 1,000.
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