Most folks, as I've noticed, in pleasure an' strife, <br />Are always expecting too much out of life. <br />They wail an' they fret <br />Just because they don't get <br />The best o' the sunshine, the fairest o' flowers, <br />The finest o' features, the strongest o' powers; <br />They whine an' they whimper an' curse an' condemn, <br />Coz life isn't always bein' partial to them. <br /> <br />Notwithstandin' the pain an' the sufferin' they see, <br />They cling to the notion that they should go free: <br />That they shouldn't share <br />In life's trouble an' care <br />But should always be happy an' never perplexed, <br />An' never discouraged or beaten or vexed. <br />When life treats 'em roughly an' jolts 'em with care, <br />They seem to imagine it's bein' unfair. <br /> <br />It's a curious notion folks hold in their pride, <br />That their souls should never be tested or tried; <br />That others must mourn <br />An' be sick an' forlorn <br />An' stand by the biers of their loved ones an' weep, <br />But life from such sorrows their bosoms must keep. <br />Oh, they mustn't know what it means to be sad, <br />Or they'll wail that the treatment they're gettin' is bad. <br /> <br />Now life as I view it means pleasure an' pain, <br />An' laughter an' weepin' an' sunshine an' rain, <br />An' takin' an' givin'; <br />An' all who are livin' <br />Must face it an' bear it the best that they can <br />Believin' great Wisdom is workin' the plan. <br />An' no one should ever complain it's unfair <br />Because at the moment he's tastin' despair.<br /><br />Edgar Albert Guest<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/expectation-31/
