Poetry & Analysis
Selected Poems
Inspirational PoemsBe the Best of Whatever You Are
If you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley—but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.
If you can’t be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can’t be a muskie then just be a bass—
But the liveliest bass in the lake!
We can’t all be captains, we’ve got to be crew,
There’s something for all of us here,
There’s big work to do, and there’s lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.
If you can’t be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can’t be the sun be a star;
It isn’t by size that you win or you fail—
Be the best of whatever you are!
Overview Short Summary
The poem teaches that character is not measured by status or size, but by doing one’s role well. It is useful for students searching for poems about good character and personal growth.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Self-respect: Every role has dignity when done well.
- Excellence: The speaker urges readers to give their best in any position.
- Humility: The poem accepts different roles without shame.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is encouraging and practical, creating a mood of confidence.
Craft Literary Devices
- Analogy: Trees, grass, fish, roads, and stars show different kinds of usefulness.
- Repetition: The repeated “If you can’t” structure turns limitation into possibility.
Good Timber
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
Overview Short Summary
The poem compares strong people to trees hardened by wind, cold, rain, and storm. Its central idea is that hardship can produce deeper strength and better character.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Resilience: Strong character grows through difficulty.
- Adversity: Storms and scars become signs of growth.
- Maturity: Ease does not create the deepest strength.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is rugged and motivational, with a mood of hard-earned confidence.
Craft Literary Devices
- Extended metaphor: Trees and timber represent human character.
- Parallelism: The poem compares trees and people in matching patterns.
Ingratitude
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
Thou dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot;
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Overview Short Summary
The poem presents ingratitude as colder and sharper than winter weather. It develops a moral lesson about thankfulness and the pain caused by forgetting kindness.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Gratitude: The poem warns against forgetting benefits and kindness.
- Betrayal: Ingratitude is shown as emotionally harsher than nature’s cold.
- Moral awareness: The passage asks readers to value loyalty and remembrance.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is bitter and reflective, creating a mood of moral warning.
Craft Literary Devices
- Personification: Wind and sky are addressed as if they can act.
- Comparison: Human ingratitude is compared with winter cold.
Contentment
My mind to me a kingdom is;
Such perfect joy therein I find
As far excels all earthly bliss
That God or Nature hath assigned;
Though much I want that most would have,
Yet still my mind forbids to crave.
Content I live; this is my stay,—
I seek no more than may suffice.
I press to bear no haughty sway;
Look, what I lack my mind supplies.
Lo, thus I triumph like a king,
Content with that my mind doth bring.
Some have too much, yet still they crave;
I little have, yet seek no more.
They are but poor, though much they have,
And I am rich with little store.
They poor, I rich; they beg, I give;
They lack, I leave; they pine, I live.
I laugh not at another’s loss;
I grudge not at another’s gain;
No worldly wave my mind can toss;
My state at one doth still remain.
I fear no foe, I fawn no friend;
I loathe not life, nor dread mine end.
Overview Short Summary
The poem celebrates inner contentment over outward wealth. It treats a peaceful, self-governed mind as a kingdom stronger than social status or possessions.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Contentment: The speaker seeks only what is enough.
- Self-mastery: The mind supplies what the outside world lacks.
- Humility: The speaker avoids envy, pride, and craving.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is calm and self-assured, with a mood of inward peace.
Craft Literary Devices
- Metaphor: The mind is described as a kingdom.
- Contrast: Richness of mind is contrasted with outward wealth and craving.
Reader Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best poems about character development?
Some of the strongest poems about character development include “If—” by Rudyard Kipling, “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Village Blacksmith” by Longfellow, and “The Bridge Builder” by Will Allen Dromgoole. These poems focus on courage, integrity, responsibility, perseverance, and self-discipline.
Which poems are good for teaching character traits?
Good poems for teaching character traits include “Little Things” for kindness and habits, “Try, Try Again” for perseverance, “Mercy” for compassion, “For A’ That and A’ That” for dignity, and “Be the Best of Whatever You Are” for self-respect and personal effort.
What themes appear in poems about good character?
Common themes include honesty, courage, responsibility, humility, kindness, resilience, self-control, empathy, perseverance, and moral growth. Many classic poems show that character is shaped through choices, habits, work, suffering, and service to others.
Which poem is best for perseverance and resilience?
“Invictus,” “If—,” “Try, Try Again,” “Good Timber,” and “Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth” are especially strong for perseverance and resilience because they show how people can keep courage during hardship, failure, delay, or pain.
Are these poems useful for students?
Yes. These poems are useful for students because they are connected with moral values, character traits, personal growth, literary devices, themes, and classroom discussion. Shorter poems such as “Little Things,” “The Noble Nature,” “Hope Is the Thing with Feathers,” and “The Winds of Fate” are especially easy to study.
Continue Reading
Related Poems & Articles
More selected reading from Inspirational Poems.
