All that Matters by Edgar A. Guest

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American Literature – American Poetry – Edgar A. Guest – Poems by Edgar A. Guest
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All that Matters

All That Matters
When all that matters shall be written down
And the long record of our years is told,
Where sham, like flesh, must perish and grow cold; … Continue Reading …

Until She Died
Until she died we never knew
The beauty of our faith in God.
We’d seen the summer roses nod … Continue Reading …

The Call
I must get out to the woods again, to the whispering tree, and the birds a-wing, … Continue Reading …

Mother and the Baby
Mother and the baby! Oh, I know no lovelier pair,
For all the dreams of all the world are hovering ’round them there; … Continue Reading …

Old-Fashioned Letters
Old-fashioned letters! How good they were!
And nobody writes them now;
Never at all comes in the scrawl … Continue Reading …

God Made This Day For Me
Jes’ the sort o’ weather and jes’ the sort o’ sky
Which seem to suit my fancy, with the white clouds driftin’ by
On a sea o’ smooth blue water. Oh, I ain’t an egotist, … Continue Reading …

Forgetful Pa
My Pa says that he used to be
A bright boy in geography;
An’ when he went to school he knew … Continue Reading …

Motherhood
I wonder if he’ll stop to think,
When the long years have traveled by,
Who heard his plea: “I want a drink!” … Continue Reading …

Playing For Keeps
I’ve watched him change from his bibs and things, from bonnets known as “cute,”
To little frocks, and later on I saw him don a suit; … Continue Reading …

The Frosting Dish
When I was just a little tad
Not more than eight or nine,
One special treat to make me glad … Continue Reading …

Play the Game
When the umpire calls you out,
It’s no use to stamp and shout,
Wildly kicking dust about— … Continue Reading …

When the Young are Grown
Once the house was lovely, but it’s lonely here to-day,
For time has come an’ stained its walls an’ called the young away;
An’ all that’s left for mother an’ for me till life is through … Continue Reading …

The Boy’s Ideal
I must be fit for a child to play with,
Fit for a youngster to walk away with;
Fit for his trust and fit to be … Continue Reading …

Just Half of That, Please
Grandmother says when I pass her the cake:
“Just half of that, please.”
If I serve her the tenderest portion of steak: … Continue Reading …

The Common Touch
I would not be too wise—so very wise
That I must sneer at simple songs and creeds,
And let the glare of wisdom blind my eyes … Continue Reading …

Marjorie
The house is as it was when she was here;
There’s nothing changed at all about the place;
The books she loved to read are waiting near … Continue Reading …

The Newspaper Man
Bit of a priest and a bit of sailor,
Bit of a doctor and bit of a tailor,
Bit of a lawyer, and bit of detective, … Continue Reading …

A Boy and His Dad
A boy and his dad on a fishing-trip—
There is a glorious fellowship!
Father and son and the open sky … Continue Reading …

Bread and Gravy
There’s a heap o’ satisfaction in a chunk o’ pumpkin pie,
An’ I’m always glad I’m livin’ when the cake is passin’ by;
An’ I guess at every meal-time I’m as happy as can be, … Continue Reading …

The Grate Fire
I’m sorry for a fellow if he cannot look and see
In a grate fire’s friendly flaming all the joys which used to be.
If in quiet contemplation of a cheerful ruddy blaze … Continue Reading …

The Kindly Neighbor
I have a kindly neighbor, one who stands
Beside my gate and chats with me awhile,
Gives me the glory of his radiant smile … Continue Reading …

The Tears Expressive
Death crossed his threshold yesterday
And left the glad voice of his loved one dumb.
To him the living now will come … Continue Reading …

The Joys We Miss
There never comes a lonely day but what we miss the laughing ways
Of those who used to walk with us through all our happy yesterdays.
We seldom miss the earthly great—the famous men that life has known— … Continue Reading …

Little Feet
There is no music quite so sweet
As patter of a baby’s feet.
Who never hears along the hall … Continue Reading …

Just Like a Man
This is the phrase they love to say:
“Just like a man!”
You can hear it wherever you chance to stray: … Continue Reading …

Clinching the Bolt
It needed just an extra turn to make the bolt secure,
A few more minutes on the job and then the work was sure;
But he begrudged the extra turn, and when the task was through, … Continue Reading …

His Pa
Some fellers’ pas seem awful old,
An’ talk like they was going to scold,
An’ their hair’s all gone, an’ they never grin… Continue Reading …

Example
Perhaps the victory shall not come to me,
Perhaps I shall not reach the goal I seek,
It may be at the last I shall be weak … Continue Reading …

Winding the Clock
When I was but a little lad, my old Grandfather said
That none should wind the clock but he, and so, at time for bed,
He’d fumble for the curious key kept high upon the shelf … Continue Reading …

The Need
We were settin’ there an’ smokin’ of our pipes, discussin’ things,
Like licker, votes for wimmin, an’ the totterin’ thrones o’ kings,
When he ups an’ strokes his whiskers with his hand an’ says t’ me: … Continue Reading …

Ten-Fingered Mice
When a cake is nicely frosted and it’s put away for tea,
And it looks as trim and proper as a chocolate cake should be,
Would it puzzle you at evening as you brought it from the ledge … Continue Reading …

The Things They Mustn’t Touch
Been down to the art museum an’ looked at a thousand things,
The bodies of ancient mummies an’ the treasures of ancient kings,
An’ some of the walls were lovely, but some of the things weren’t much, … Continue Reading …

The Harder Part
It’s mighty hard for Mother— I am busy through the day
And the tasks of every morning keep the gloomy thoughts away,
And I’m not forever meeting with a slipper or a gown … Continue Reading …

Youth
If I had youth I’d bid the world to try me;
I’d answer every challenge to my will.
Though mountains stood in silence to defy me, … Continue Reading …

Accomplished Care
All things grow lovely in a little while,
The brush of memory paints a canvas fair;
The dead face through the ages wears a smile, … Continue Reading …

Bulb Planting Time
Last night he said the dead were dead
And scoffed my faith to scorn;
I found him at a tulip bed … Continue Reading …

His Other Chance
He was down and out, and his pluck was gone,
And he said to me in a gloomy way:
“I’ve wasted my chances, one by one, … Continue Reading …

The Family Doctor
I’ve tried the high-toned specialists, who doctor folks to-day;
I’ve heard the throat man whisper low “Come on now let us spray”;
I’ve sat in fancy offices and waited long my turn, … Continue Reading …

Denial
I’d like to give ’em all they ask—it hurts to have to answer, “No,”
And say they cannot have the things they tell me they are wanting so;
Yet now and then they plead for what I know would not be good to give … Continue Reading …

The workman’s dream
To-day it’s dirt and dust and steam,
To-morrow it will be the same,
And through it all the soul must dream … Continue Reading …

The Homely Man
Looks as though a cyclone hit him—
Can’t buy clothes that seem to fit him;
An’ his cheeks are rough like leather, … Continue Reading …

Unchangeable Mother
Mothers never change, I guess,
In their tender thoughtfulness.
Makes no difference that you grow … Continue Reading …

Life
Life is a jest;
Take the delight of it.
Laughter is best; … Continue Reading …

Success
This I would claim for my success—not fame nor gold,
Nor the throng’s changing cheers from day to day,
Not always ease and fortune’s glad display, … Continue Reading …

The Lonely Old Fellow
The roses are bedded for winter, the tulips are planted for spring;
The robins and martins have left us; there are only the sparrows to sing.
The garden seems solemnly silent, awaiting its blankets of snow, … Continue Reading …

Somebody Else
Somebody wants a new bonnet to wear;Somebody wants a new dress;
Somebody needs a new bow for her hair,And never the wanting grows less.
Oh, this is the reason I labor each dayAnd this is the joy of my tasks: … Continue Reading …

Effort
He brought me his report card from the teacher and he said
He wasn’t very proud of it and sadly bowed his head.
He was excellent in reading, but arithmetic, was fair, … Continue Reading …

Living
The miser thinks he’s living when he’s hoarding up his gold;
The soldier calls it living when he’s doing something bold;
The sailor thinks it living to be tossed upon the sea, … Continue Reading …

A Warm House and a Ruddy Fire
A warm house and a ruddy fire,
To what more can man aspire?
Eyes that shine with love aglow, … Continue Reading …

The One In Ten
Nine passed him by with a hasty look,
Each bent on his eager way;
One glance at him was the most they took, … Continue Reading …

To a Young Man
The great were once as you.
They whom men magnify to-day
Once groped and blundered on life’s way, … Continue Reading …

Afraid of His Dad
Bill Jones, who goes to school with me,
Is the saddest boy I ever see.
He’s just so ‘fraid he runs away … Continue Reading …

Service
I have no wealth of gold to give away,
But I can pledge to worthy causes these:
I’ll give my strength, my days and hours of ease, … Continue Reading …

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American Literature – American Poetry – Edgar A. Guest – Poems by Edgar A. Guest

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