Tom Carpenter's Blog

Some One Can Do It

When some one says, "It can’t be done,"
And squirms ‘neath manhood’s toiling;
Complains about "No battles won"
His speech with whimpers boiling;
Some other man with steady tread
Success attains – how was it?
Pursues his course with aching head;
Plods on and works and does it!

"It can’t be done!" He strikes his pate
And rails against his station,
While off’ring to the god of Fate
His daily weak oblation.
Yet other men whose lot in life
Was "down" from Fate’s worst stacking,
Go on with plucky gain through strife,
And win without a backing!

When someone says, "It ain’t no use
I’ve had no hand that boosted;
My head’s been thrust within the noose;
Ill luck on me has roosted"
Some other man far lower down
On Fortune’s fateful ladder
Mounts on his way and wins the crowd
For ill luck none the sadder!

When someone says, "It can’t be done,"
Believe it not one minute;
For near at hand one’s on the run
To see the prize and win it.
The baffled losers rub their eyes,
And idly cry "How was it?"
But while they yearn to grasp the prize
Their next-door neighbor does it!

-David V. Bush