1Because I could not stop for Death –
2He kindly stopped for me –
3The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
4And Immortality.
5We slowly drove – He knew no haste
6And I had put away
7My labor and my leisure too,
8For His Civility –
9We passed the School, where Children strove
10At Recess – in the Ring –
11We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
12We passed the Setting Sun –
13Or rather – He passed Us –
14The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
15For only Gossamer, my Gown –
16My Tippet – only Tulle –
17We paused before a House that seemed
18A Swelling of the Ground –
19The Roof was scarcely visible –
20The Cornice – in the Ground –
21Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
22Feels shorter than the Day
23I first surmised the Horses' Heads
24Were toward Eternity –
Did you tackle that trouble that came your way
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?
Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it,
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?
You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what's that?
Come up with a smiling face.
It's nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there -- that's disgrace.
The harder you're thrown, why the higher you bounce;
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn't the fact that you're licked that counts,
It's how did you fight -- and why?
And though you be done to the death, what then?
If you battled the best you could,
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.
Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he's slow or spry,
It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts,
But only how did you die
Edmund Vance Cooke on June 5th 1866, in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada. His first job after leaving school was in a Sewing Machine Factory. In 1893 he left that job to earn a living as a poet, writer, and public speaker .
He published his first book of poems, A Patch of Pansies in 1894 and went on to publish a further 15 books of poetry and several books for children
He married Lilith Castleberry in 1898 and they had five children
He became a broadcaster on station,
WWJ in Detroit broadcasting his poems live to thousands of listeners.
Cooke died in Cleveland, Ohio on December 18th 1932.
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For
most of us, life is a journey to the grave. I think we should live each day considering it our last day. This poem taught me how to hold my head in all circumstances. I like the questioning tone of the poet when he asks whether you have accepted life with cheerful and resolute heart. I love the theme when poet justifies saying that what is wrong in falling down or…by Edmund Vance Cooke
Photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash
Why do I have to be born like this? Why can’t I get anything without trouble? Why? Just why? Let’s be true, we have always tried to blame something other than ourselves when we fail. Not
everyone is born with silver spoons in their mouths and we shouldn’t excuse ourselves from challenging ourselves to great heights. Maybe we cannot determine our birth, but we can always determine how we are going to live. Edmund Vance Cooke’s ‘How Did You Die?’ is a motivational poem telling us to go head-on with our challenges in life. Life throws challenges at everyone of us. And when it does, how we react to it is all that matters. Are we going to accept the challenges with a
cheerful mindset and strong heart? Or are we going to cower and hide from the outer world? The decision is ours. Where there are challenges, there are troubles. But how we perceive these troubles is up to us. It is our mindset which decides if our troubles are a ton or an ounce. When we challenge ourselves, we are not always going to win. We may fall many times. So, it doesn’t matter how many times we fall, but how many times we pull ourselves up. Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a
trouble’s an ounce, So, what if we fall and get hurt. It isn’t embarrassing. If we had thought so as a child, we wouldn’t be here walking. What is really embarrassing is when we don’t get up after falling down and give up without even seeing the end. All we have to do is put on a smile and get up. A ball bounces up as hard as it hits the floor. Hence, we
should be proud of our failures. It doesn’t matter if we fail as long as we have fought well. We should try our best so that we don’t regret it even when we fail. The harder you’re thrown, why the higher you bounce; If we had fought well and had done our best in whatever role we are given in this mortal world, then the
Critic will conclude that we did well. The Critic who will judge us is not the society or family or acquaintances but the Creator, the supreme power. Death comes to everyone. Death doesn’t look at our age, gender, status or power. It treats everyone equally and may come to anyone at any time. Whether we die early or late, whether we die in a moment or experience a slow death, it isn’t our death that matters but how we died. Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a
pounce, We can equalize the phrase ‘how did you die’ to how we lived. Life is full of choices and we may regret some. But we have to make sure that we turn such regrets into life lessons. Maybe we will die today or tomorrow, but would death matter if we live well?
Or a trouble is what you make it,
And it isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn’t the fact that you’re licked that counts,
It’s how did you fight — and why?
And whether he’s slow or spry,
It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts,
But only how did you die?