I own this book. I read from it and I plan on giving it to my son when he gets older. I highly recommend it for your bookshelf.
This book of poetry, It Can Be Done, is great book of poetry that a man should have on his bookshelf It is a little hard to find because its last edition was put together in 1930 but I will put an amazon link at the bottom of this post where I have seen it available before. A recent university study found that poetry can help sharpen the mind and in some people, actually stave off dementia as they get older. I believe it – especially when it comes to sharpening the mind.
A book like this is great because you can read poetry by great writers who also give you worthy things to think about. The book opens with a great poem by a guy named Douglas Malloch who worked in the timber industry in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They called him the “lumberjacks poet.” His poem is titled Be the Best of Whatever You Are and is a great reminder that, as his poem says,
“If you can’t be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can’t be the sun be a star;
It isn’t by size that you win or you fail –
Be the bests at whatever you are.”
Good poetry is worth reading, especially when it is thought provoking and encourages you to be the best man or woman that you can be for yourself and those you affect. This is by far my favorite go to book on poetry that speaks to the heart and mind thoughts aimed at better living.
The poems were collected by Joseph Morris and St. Clair Adams. This is a link to the thirty-fourth printing, from June, 1930.
