Meaning, Themes & Style
David V. Bush Poems About Consistent Work
Featured PoemsKeep Everlastingly at It
Overview Keep Everlastingly at It: Meaning
“Keep Everlastingly at It” praises the person who continues working without receiving immediate praise, payment or recognition. Its title turns persistence into a lasting practice rather than a temporary reaction used only while motivation is high.
The poem’s lesson is that useful work may begin producing value before other people recognise it. Delayed reward does not make the effort meaningless, particularly when the work develops discipline, experience and future opportunity.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Consistency: Repeated work is valued more highly than occasional intensity.
- Delayed reward: Recognition may arrive long after the effort begins.
- Self-discipline: Work should not depend entirely on praise from other people.
- Purpose: Continued effort gains value through usefulness and improvement.
Poetic Approach Repetition and Motivational Tone
The title sounds like a complete spoken motto and contains the central argument of the poem. Repetition makes persistence both the subject and the method, while the firm tone encourages work during periods when the result is not yet visible.
Some One Can Do It
Overview Some One Can Do It: Summary and Meaning
“Some One Can Do It” contrasts the person who immediately declares a task impossible with the person who continues looking for a workable method. Complaints about bad luck and previous failure are placed against initiative and practical experimentation.
The title does not guarantee that every person can accomplish every task immediately. Its purpose is to challenge the automatic belief that difficulty proves impossibility. Once someone develops a successful method, the claim that the task cannot be done is disproved.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Possibility: A difficult task is not necessarily an impossible one.
- Initiative: Progress begins when someone is willing to attempt the work.
- Innovation: An unsuccessful method can lead towards a more effective approach.
- Action over complaint: Practical effort is contrasted with repeated excuses.
Poetic Approach Opposing Voices and Direct Speech
The poem creates a contrast between the voice insisting that a task cannot be done and the confident claim that someone can do it. Direct speech makes this difference between passive defeat and active effort easy to recognise.
It's Better to Smile
Lose temper, and all must perish;
Smile, and you’ll put ‘er through!
An angry frown puts your true self down—
So smile, and dare, and do!
When your rage seems too hot to smother,
And the world bears a crimson hue,
Don’t play the fool—take a moment to cool—
Just smile, and you’ll push ‘er through!
When you feel like tearing and rending,
Just pause for a saner view.
There is naught to gain from your wrathful pain—
So smile, and you’ll push ‘er through!
Lose your temper, and you are vanquished;
Smile, and you’ll put ‘er through;
For anger’s the first of your foes—and worst—
So smile, and dare, and do!
Overview It's Better to Smile: Summary and Meaning
“It’s Better to Smile” contrasts uncontrolled anger with a calmer and more deliberate response. The speaker argues that losing one’s temper adds another problem to the original difficulty, while pausing creates room for clearer thought and useful action.
The smile in the poem is not simply a cheerful facial expression. It symbolizes emotional control, perspective and the decision to continue without allowing anger to take command.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Self-control: Anger does not have to determine a person’s behaviour.
- Constructive attitude: Calm thought supports more useful action.
- Courage: Smiling represents readiness to continue rather than withdrawal.
- Perspective: Pausing allows the situation to be viewed more clearly.
Close Reading Stanza-by-Stanza Explanation
Stanza 1
The first stanza states the main contrast. Losing one’s temper weakens the ability to complete the task, while calm courage helps a person continue.
Stanza 2
The world appears “crimson” when rage shapes perception. The speaker therefore recommends a pause before acting, allowing emotional intensity to decrease.
Stanza 3
The desire to tear and destroy is answered with a “saner view.” Anger may feel powerful, but the speaker argues that it produces no useful gain.
Stanza 4
The final stanza presents anger as an enemy that defeats the angry person first. The closing commands connect smiling with courage and purposeful action.
Craft Literary Devices and Structure
- Refrain: Repeated instructions to smile and continue reinforce the central lesson.
- Contrast: Anger is placed against calmness, defeat against progress, and frowning against smiling.
- Colour imagery: The “crimson hue” represents perception distorted by rage.
- Imperative language: Commands such as “take a moment to cool” make the advice direct.
- Internal rhyme: Pairs such as “fool” and “cool” give the poem a lively, memorable sound.
The poem contains four quatrains with strong end rhymes and recurring phrases. Its compact structure suits the practical, motto-like nature of its advice.
The Successful Man
Successful men are always kicked, they’re kicked with envious wrath;
No matter what their line may be on life’s laborious path.
The man who wins is always kicked, they kick him black and blue;
He’s thumped with mud, and rotten-egged; gets number fourteen shoe.
Because he’s always on the job, industrious at his work,
Because he plods and plugs away, while other men may shirk,
Because he puts more in his work and gets more in return,
And stirs things up and gets things done, he’s kicked by those who yearn.
The men who set the world ahead are kicked in jealous spite,
They lift us to a higher plane, but feel green envy’s blight;
No matter, Sir, what lives they save, no matter what they give,
If they do more than other men, they’re punctured like a sieve.
If you’re not kicked, I wonder now if you have lost your hope?
Do you play fair and do your best, or sulk and grunt and mope?
If you’re not kicked you won’t rise far; so, man, get in the game,
And let them kick you all around—kick hard until they’re lame!
So do your work and play your game—play fair and hard all day;
And let the townsmen wag their tongues, the gossips have their say;
And never mind their cutting ways, nor see that surly frown,
For in the end you’ll beat them all—although you’re oft kicked down!
Overview The Successful Man Poem Meaning
“The Successful Man” presents criticism and jealousy as common reactions to visible achievement. The successful worker is attacked not because he has avoided effort, but because his continued activity and results make less productive observers uncomfortable.
The poem’s message is that criticism should not automatically be treated as proof of wrongdoing. A person who works honestly, plays fairly and continues improving may still attract gossip or resentment. Bush advises such a person to remain focused on the work.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Success and envy: Achievement may attract resentment from people who compare themselves with the successful person.
- Hard work: Success is associated with remaining active and completing useful tasks.
- Criticism: Public disapproval is not always a reliable measure of a person’s conduct.
- Fairness: The speaker still insists that work and competition should be honest.
- Persistence: The successful person must continue despite gossip and discouragement.
Close Reading Stanza-by-Stanza Explanation
Stanza 1
The poem begins with exaggerated images of successful people being kicked, covered with mud and attacked. These actions represent harsh criticism, gossip and resentment.
Stanza 2
The successful person is criticised because he remains active while others avoid work. His results make the difference between effort and idleness visible.
Stanza 3
Even people whose work improves society may face jealousy. The comparison with a sieve suggests being repeatedly pierced by hostile comments and attacks.
Stanza 4
The speaker asks whether receiving no criticism might indicate a lack of ambition or activity. The idea is deliberately provocative: meaningful action often creates opposition.
Stanza 5
The final stanza advises the reader to work hard and fairly while allowing gossip to pass without controlling the outcome. Persistence is presented as the answer to criticism.
Craft Tone and Literary Devices
- Hyperbole: Images of kicking, mud and rotten eggs exaggerate criticism to make it vivid and humorous.
- Metaphor: Physical attacks represent envy, gossip and verbal opposition.
- Repetition: The repeated word “kicked” keeps criticism at the centre of the poem.
- Rhetorical questions: Questions challenge the reader to consider whether complete safety may indicate inactivity.
- Contrast: Industrious workers are placed against people who shirk, gossip or resent achievement.
- Colloquial diction: Informal phrases give the poem an energetic and conversational tone.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The poem contains five quatrains. Each stanza follows an AABB rhyme scheme, with two rhyming couplets. The long lines create the rhythm of animated speech, while repeated comic images prevent the moral lesson from becoming overly formal.
Reader Questions
Frequently Asked Questions About David V. Bush Poems
Who was David V. Bush?
David Van Bush, often credited as David V. Bush, was an American minister, poet and popular-psychology writer. His poems frequently address willpower, persistence, faith, work, emotional control and personal success.
What are David V. Bush's most popular poems?
Frequently circulated titles include “Keep Plodding,” “Try Again,” “There’s No Such Thing as Failure,” “Opportunity,” “Do Not Lose Your Pep,” “Some One Can Do It,” “It’s Better to Smile” and “The Successful Man.”
What is the meaning of Keep Plodding?
“Keep Plodding” means that slow but consistent effort can carry a person through a period when progress is not yet visible. The poem treats persistence as more dependable than brief enthusiasm.
What is the central idea of Opportunity by David V. Bush?
The central idea is that opportunity may return and can appear in unexpected circumstances. Knowledge, courage and awareness help a person recognise and use the next available chance.
What does pep mean in Do Not Lose Your Pep?
“Pep” refers to morale, courage, energy and willingness to act. The speaker encourages readers to protect these qualities during disappointment or material loss.
What is the message of It's Better to Smile?
The poem teaches that uncontrolled anger can make a difficult situation worse. Pausing and regaining emotional control allows a person to think more clearly and continue acting constructively.
What is The Successful Man by David V. Bush about?
The poem is about the criticism and envy that may follow visible success. Bush advises honest and industrious people to remain focused on their work rather than allowing gossip to stop them.
What books contain David V. Bush poems?
Documented collections associated with Bush include Inspirational Poems, Soul Poems and Other Verse, Poems of Mastery and Love Verse, Peace Poems and Sausages and Grit and Gumption.
Are the complete poems on this page public domain?
The complete texts reproduced here were verified in the 1921 American publication Grit and Gumption and are public domain in the United States. Copyright duration can differ internationally, and modern edited versions, recordings, illustrations or translations may have separate protection.
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