THIS TOO SHALL PASS

 

THIS TOO SHALL PASS

The poem which is given below is titled ‘This Too Shall Pass” and is written by the American writer Helen Steiner Rice. She was born on 19 May 1900, at Lorain, Ohio, United States and passed away 0n 23 April 1981 at the same place. According to her biographical details :“ She became a successful business woman and lecturer but found her most satisfying outlet in writing verse.”

Rice had her own views about love. She said: “Love is unselfish, understanding and kind. For it sees with its heart, and not with its mind. Love is the answer that everyone seeks; love is the language that every heart speaks.”

   The poem under reference is inspirational. It teaches us to remain calm and quiet even in most disturbing circumstances. No situation however bad  it may be is stationary. It comes and goes . Every nocturnal darkness fades away with the morning. No event in life can upset a person if he believes that all situations, pleasant as well as unpleasant, are transitory. Like so many earlier, every new situation however frightening will passes away.

    Here is the full text of the poem:

            THIS TOO SHALL PASS

If I can endure for this minute

Whatever is happening to me,

No matter how heavy my heart is

Or how dark the moment may be-

 

If I can remain calm and quiet

With all the world crashing about me,

Secure in the knowledge God loves me

When everyone else seems to doubt me-

 

If I can but keep on believing

What I know in my heart to be true,

That darkness will fade with the morning

And this will pass away, too-

 

Then nothing in life can defeat me

For as long as this knowledge remains

I can suffer whatever is happening

For I know God will break all of the chains

 

 

That are binding me tight in the darkness

And trying to fill me with fear-

For there is no night without dawning

And I know that my morning is near.

                                                                        ************

G.R.Kanwal

9^th October 2024