poetry - Pivotal

It Couldn’t Be Done

By Edgar A. Guest

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 to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

dance, life, poetry, Quotations, sing, suffering, understanding

Understand the whole of life, not just one little part

homeless, inspiration, poet, poetry, videos

Homeless man’s dream comes true

On the streets of Sao Paulo, a homeless man wrote poetry, and it took just one person to change his life forever.

The Conditioned from Facebook Stories on Vimeo.

attitude, inspiration, poems, poetry

Beautiful uplifting poem – Thinking

Thinking

If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don’t,
If you like to win, but you think you can’t
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!

–Walter D Wintle

poetry, videos

If I should have a daughter

"If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she's gonna call me Point B ... " began spoken word poet Sarah Kay, in a talk that inspired two standing ovations at TED2011. She tells the story of her metamorphosis -- from a wide-eyed teenager soaking in verse at New York's Bowery Poetry Club to a teacher connecting kids with the power of self-expression through Project V.O.I.C.E. -- and gives two breathtaking performances of "B" and "Hiroshima."

poetry, words

The 100 Most Beautiful Words in English

Here are the 100 most beautiful words in English. How do we know we have the most beautiful? They were chosen by Robert Beard, who has been making dictionaries, creating word lists, and writing poetry for 40 years. For five years he wrote the Word of the Day at yourDictionary.com and since 2004 he has written up 1500 words in the series, So, What's the Good Word? here at alphaDictionary. Below is a select list of his favorite words that he used in his poetry—or wishes he had.

Chaos and colourful creativity in Neil Gaiman’s “Crazy hair” for kids

Crazy hair

by Neil Gaiman

Illustrated by Dave McKean

The duo responsible for The Wolves in the Walls (2003) return with another chaotic picture book popping with bright collage and multimedia imagery.

... more

---Listen to the author, Neil Gaiman reading his poem

ages 8+, Ages 9-11, children's books, kids books, Nikki Giovanni, poetry

Book – Hip-hop speaks to children. Poetry with a beat

In this slamming cousin to Poetry Speaks to Children (2005), editor Giovanni states, “Poetry with a beat. That’s hip hop in a flash,” and she goes on to link hip-hop to grand opera and present a capsule history of African American vernacular music. This features a wide-ranging selection of 51 entries, plus a CD with new or previously released recorded versions of 29, some with music.

Hoberman Is New Children’s Poet Laureate

Mary Ann Hoberman, being appointed
Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry
Foundation's John Barr.
Photo: Gerber+Scarpelli.

As part of its fifth annual Pegasus Awards, the Poetry Foundation has selected Mary Ann Hoberman as Children’s Poet Laureate. Hoberman inherits the two-year position, which comes with a $25,000 prize, from Jack Prelutsky. The purpose of the award is to raise awareness of poetry among children.

Hoberman received the honor at an awards ceremony earlier this week in Chicago. “Generations of readers who first discovered poetry in the books of Mary Ann Hoberman remember it not as a dry textbook encounter but as a moment of joyous play,” said John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation, in announcing Hoberman’s appointment. “Her poems tease young minds even as they please young ears with rhythm and rhyme.”

The children’s poetry archive.

This is a section of the Poetry Archive specifically designed for children. Find out more ...