Don’t Quit People

When things go wrong, as they mostly will
when the road we're trudging is all uphill
when odds are low and stakes are high
when we’re told to dig but we need to fly
when shoveling gets us deeper shit
rest, of course!
but don't quit

Life is queer with its twists and turns
as every one of us learns

We never know if we bail out
where we can sail if we come about
and head the bow into the wind
then change direction yet again
how far we might get if we to go
on tacking against the upwind blow

The silver lining clouds of doubt
will say we’re falling off the earth
that wreckage is the sure result
that foolishness will be the death
of all the drifters in our boat

But often the dream is nearer than
it seems to the faint and faltering
when flagging spirits give it up
and choke or ail from the martyrs' cup
remember as night comes down
the risen souls with thorny crowns
and stars that can’t be seen by day
that light the hope to point a way

So hold course though we've been hard hit

take heart
and know
the beat
don’t quit