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The Stick-Together Families
by
Edgar Guest


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The stick-together families are happier by far
Than the brothers and the sisters who take separate highways are.
The gladdest people living are the wholesome folks who make
A circle at the fireside that no power but death can break.
And the finest of conventions ever held beneath the sun
Are the little family gatherings when the busy day is done.

There are rich folk, there are poor folk, who imagine they are wise,
And they're very quick to shatter all the little family ties.
Each goes searching after pleasure in his own selected way,
Each with strangers likes to wander, and with strangers likes to play.
But it's bitterness they harvest, and it's empty joy they find,
For the children that are wisest are the stick-together kind.

There are some who seem to fancy that for gladness they must roam,
That for smiles that are the brightest they must wander far from home.
That the strange friend is the true friend, and they travel far astray;
they waste their lives in striving for a joy that's far away.
But the gladdest sort of people, when the busy day is done,
Are the brothers and the sisters who together share their fun.

It's the stick-together family that wins the joys of earth,
That hears the sweetest music and that finds the finest mirth.
It's the old home roof that shelters all the charm that life can give;
There you find the gladdest play-ground, there the happiest spot to live.
And, o weary, wandering brother, if contentment you would win,
Come you back unto the fireside and be comrade with your kin.


This poem is in the public domain.

 



Edgar Guest (1881 - 1959)  was born in England,  but moved with his family to Detroit, Michigan, when he was ten years old. He worked for more than sixty years at the Detroit Free Press, publishing his first poem at the age of seventeen, then going on to become a reporter and columnist whose work was featured in hundreds of newspapers around the country. Edgar is said to have written some 11,000 poems during his lifetime, most of it sentimental, short, upbeat verse. Critics often derided his work, but America adored him. He was known as the "People's Poet," served as Michigan's poet laureate, hosted a long-running radio show and TV show, and published more than twenty books.

 


Post New Comment:
Anastasia:
Guest clearly wrote this with one's family of origin in mind, but given how highly he values the idea of family, I can see that he would understand that sometimes, one's family of origin can't provide this support, and creating a family of choice would seem a good idea to him.
Posted 11/23/2020 06:14 PM
carlpalmer:
people's poet for sure
Posted 11/23/2020 01:11 PM
Larry Schug:
The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?
Posted 11/23/2020 12:02 PM
Jancan:
I absolutely LOVE this poem!
Posted 11/23/2020 10:58 AM
michael escoubas:
Can't think of a better or more family-friendly poem than this. Some may say that Edgar Guest's work lacks sophistication . . . but who among us doesn't yearn for exactly what he describes? I number myself among them!
Posted 11/23/2020 08:32 AM


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