When things go wrong
As they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging
Seems all uphill,

When the funds are low,
And debts are high,
And you want to smile
But you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you
Down a bit—
Rest if you must,
But don’t you quit.

Life is queer
With its twist and turns
As everyone of us
Sometimes learns;

And many a persons turns about
When they might have won
Had they stuck it out.
Don’t give up—

Though the peace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Speak gently, kindly, to the poor,
Let no harsh tones be heard:

They have enough they must endure,
Without an unkind word.

Speak gently to the erring; know
They may have toiled in vain;
Perchance unkindness made then so:
Oh, win them back again.

Speak gently: He who gave his life
To bend man’s stubborn will,
When elements were in fierce strife,
Said to them, “Peace, be still!”

Speak gently: It’s a little thing
Dropped in the heart’s deep well;
The good the joy, which it may bring
Eternity shall tell.