Introduction
Edgar A. Guest wrote about the decisions people make when nobody is applauding: whether they continue after failure, help someone whose chances are fading, control their fear, or turn an ordinary house into a place filled with shared memory. His poems use familiar language and strong rhythms, but their questions are often demanding.
This selection focuses on the Edgar A. Guest poems readers most often seek for motivation, classroom study and personal reflection. It includes poems about self-reliance, kindness, courage, teamwork, fatherhood, home and attempting work that others consider impossible. Readers exploring similar writers can also visit our Famous Poets directory.
Complete Poem & Appreciation
Edgar A. Guest Poems About Kindness
Featured PoemsHave You Earned Your Tomorrow?
Is anybody happier because you passed his way?
Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?
This day is almost over, and its toiling time is through;
Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?
Did you give a cheerful greeting to the friend who came along?
Or a churlish sort of “Howdy” and then vanish in the throng?
Were you selfish pure and simple as you rushed along the way,
Or is someone mighty grateful for a deed you did today?
Can you say tonight, in parting with the day that’s slipping fast,
That you helped a single brother of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said;
Does a man whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead?
Did you waste the day, or lose it, was it well or sorely spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness or a scar of discontent?
As you close your eyes in slumber do you think that God would say,
You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?
Overview Have You Earned Your Tomorrow Summary
The poem asks readers to evaluate the effect of their behaviour at the end of an ordinary day. Instead of measuring success through money, status or completed tasks, the speaker asks whether anyone became happier, more hopeful or less alone because the reader passed through that person’s life.
Its title does not present tomorrow as a literal reward that can be purchased. It asks whether today was used in a way worthy of receiving another day.
Core Ideas Central Idea and Main Themes
- Daily self-examination: The reader is asked to review actions before the day ends.
- Kindness: Small greetings and helpful deeds can alter another person’s day.
- Responsibility towards others: A worthwhile life is measured partly through its effect on people.
- Time: The passing day creates urgency because lost opportunities cannot be repeated exactly.
- Moral accountability: The final question places daily conduct within a spiritual framework.
Poetic Craft Poem Appreciation, Structure and Devices
The poem contains four quatrains and follows an AABB rhyme scheme in each stanza. Its tone is reflective and questioning rather than openly accusatory.
- Rhetorical questions: Nearly the entire poem consists of questions that require personal reflection.
- Contrast: Cheerfulness is set against rudeness, kindness against selfishness, and hope against discouragement.
- Metaphor: A “trail of kindness” and a “scar of discontent” describe the lasting effects of behaviour.
- Direct address: Repeated use of “you” prevents the lesson from remaining abstract.
- Time imagery: Evening and approaching sleep create a natural moment for reviewing the day.
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.
Overview It Couldn't Be Done Summary and Meaning
The poem follows a man who hears that a task is impossible but refuses to accept that judgment before making an attempt. He begins without dramatic speeches, works despite ridicule and eventually completes the supposedly impossible task.
The poem does not argue that every attempt must succeed. Its central message is that predictions of failure should not replace direct effort. An untested claim of impossibility has less value than practical experience.
Close Reading Stanza-by-Stanza Explanation
Stanza 1
The central figure hears that the task cannot be completed. He admits that failure may be possible, but he refuses to repeat that conclusion until he has tried for himself.
Stanza 2
Other people laugh because nobody they know has succeeded before. The man responds by beginning the task rather than debating with them.
Stanza 3
The poem broadens its message from one man to the reader. Many people will predict danger and defeat, but the speaker recommends beginning with courage and steady energy.
Poetic Craft Rhyme Scheme and Literary Devices
Each eight-line stanza broadly follows an ABABCDCD rhyme scheme. The repeated ending gives the poem the rhythm of a success story being retold.
- Refrain: The statement that the task could not be done but was completed returns at the end of the first two stanzas.
- Irony: The “impossible” task is eventually accomplished.
- Repetition: “There are thousands” emphasizes how common discouraging voices can be.
- Physical imagery: Taking off a coat and hat represents readiness to begin practical work.
- Colloquial diction: Words such as “chuckle,” “grin” and “buckle in” make the tone energetic and approachable.
See It Through
When you’re up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.
When it’s vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!
Black may be the clouds about you
And your future may seem grim,
But don’t let your nerve desert you;
Keep yourself in fighting trim.
If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it through!
Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you’re beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don’t give up, whate’er you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.
See it through!
Overview See It Through Summary and Meaning
“See It Through” advises readers to face a serious difficulty directly when avoidance is no longer useful. The speaker accepts that courage does not guarantee victory. A person may still fail, but confronting the problem preserves dignity, effort and the possibility of success.
The poem’s message is not simply “never feel afraid.” It recommends maintaining enough control to continue acting even while the future appears uncertain.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Perseverance: The repeated command is to continue until the struggle reaches its conclusion.
- Courage under uncertainty: Action remains necessary even when success is not guaranteed.
- Acceptance: Some difficulties cannot be escaped and must be confronted.
- Shared experience: The reader is reminded that other people have faced similar trouble.
Poetic Craft Structure and Literary Devices
The poem contains three eight-line stanzas. Its recurring final command operates as a refrain and gives each stanza a firm conclusion.
- Imperative language: Commands such as “meet it,” “lift your chin” and “plant your feet” turn courage into visible action.
- Weather imagery: Black clouds represent fear, uncertainty and approaching difficulty.
- Refrain: “See it through” summarizes the response recommended in every situation.
- Contrast: Failure is placed beside conquest, running away beside confrontation, and despair beside continued effort.
- Physical posture: Chin, shoulders, feet and eyes show the body expressing mental resolve.
Only a Dad
Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.
Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.
Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.
Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.
Overview Only a Dad Summary and Meaning
“Only a Dad” honours an ordinary father who returns home tired and without public fame. He is one among millions of working people, yet his daily labour, endurance and devotion make him extraordinary within his family.
The repeated word “only” first appears to reduce the father’s importance. By the final line, the poem has reversed that judgment: being a dependable father is itself a significant achievement.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Parental sacrifice: The father accepts hardship to protect and support his children.
- Ordinary heroism: Greatness can exist without wealth, fame or public recognition.
- Family love: His strongest reward is the happiness of those waiting at home.
- Generational responsibility: He repeats the care once given to him by his own father.
Poetic Craft Structure and Literary Devices
The poem consists of four six-line stanzas using three rhyming couplets in each stanza. This AABBCC pattern creates a steady and affectionate tribute.
- Anaphora: Three stanzas begin with “Only a dad,” continually returning attention to the apparently ordinary subject.
- Irony: The word “only” contrasts with the father’s enormous contribution.
- Metaphor: The “daily race” and “game” represent working life.
- Contrast: Gold and fame are placed against love, sacrifice and family loyalty.
- Repetition: Repeated references to work and endurance show that fatherhood is expressed through continuing action.
Home
It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home,
A heap o’ sun an’ shadder, an’ ye sometimes have t’ roam
Afore ye really ’preciate the things ye lef’ behind,
An’ hunger fer ’em somehow, with ’em allus on yer mind.
It don’t make any differunce how rich ye get t’ be,
How much yer chairs an’ tables cost, how great yer luxury;
It ain’t home t’ ye, though it be the palace of a king,
Until somehow yer soul is sort o’ wrapped round everything.
Home ain’t a place that gold can buy or get up in a minute;
Afore it’s home there’s got t’ be a heap o’ livin’ in it;
Within the walls there’s got t’ be some babies born, and then
Right there ye’ve got t’ bring ’em up t’ women good, an’ men;
And gradjerly, as time goes on, ye find ye wouldn’t part
With anything they ever used—they’ve grown into yer heart:
The old high chairs, the playthings, too, the little shoes they wore
Ye hoard; an’ if ye could ye’d keep the thumbmarks on the door.
Ye’ve got t’ weep t’ make it home, ye’ve got t’ sit an’ sigh
An’ watch beside a loved one’s bed, an’ know that Death is nigh;
An’ in the stillness o’ the night t’ see Death’s angel come,
An’ close the eyes o’ her that smiled, an’ leave her sweet voice dumb.
Fer these are scenes that grip the heart, an’ when yer tears are dried,
Ye find the home is dearer than it was, an’ sanctified;
An’ tuggin’ at ye always are the pleasant memories
O’ her that was an’ is no more—ye can’t escape from these.
Ye’ve got t’ sing an’ dance fer years, ye’ve got t’ romp an’ play,
An’ learn t’ love the things ye have by usin’ ’em each day;
Even the roses ’round the porch must blossom year by year
Afore they ’come a part o’ ye, suggestin’ someone dear
Who used t’ love ’em long ago, an’ trained ’em jes’ t’ run
The way they do, so’s they would get the early mornin’ sun;
Ye’ve got t’ love each brick an’ stone from cellar up t’ dome:
It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home.
Overview Home by Edgar Guest: Summary and Meaning
“Home” distinguishes a building from the emotional life formed within it. Furniture, luxury and architecture can create an impressive house, but only years of shared experience make that place personally meaningful.
Joy alone does not create the home. Birth, play, illness, grief, death, memory and ordinary use gradually connect the family’s identity with rooms and objects. Home therefore becomes a record of relationships rather than property that can be purchased instantly.
Interpretation Main Themes and Symbols
- House versus home: A house is a structure; a home develops through emotional attachment and shared experience.
- Memory: Familiar objects become valuable because they carry personal history.
- Family life: Children, play, care and loss shape the identity of the home.
- Grief: Sorrow can deepen attachment to a place associated with a loved one.
- Everyday objects: High chairs, toys, shoes and thumbmarks symbolize stages of family life.
- Roses: Their repeated flowering represents time, continuity and remembrance.
Poetic Craft Dialect, Structure and Literary Devices
The poem uses five irregular stanzas and rhyming couplets. Its dialect spellings reproduce an informal speaking voice and make the reflection sound personal rather than ceremonial.
- Refrain: The opening statement returns as the final line and frames the entire argument.
- Extended contrast: Material luxury is repeatedly separated from emotional belonging.
- Catalogue: Lists of domestic objects and experiences show how attachment accumulates.
- Personification: Memories appear to pull continually at the speaker.
- Visual imagery: Shoes, thumbmarks, roses and household rooms make memory physically visible.
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