quote · Legacy record
If you were toiling up a weary hill, Bearing a load beyond your strength to bear. Straining each nerve untiringly and still Stumbling and losing foothold here and there And each one passing by would do so much As give one upward lift and go his way, Would not the slight reiterated touch Of help and kindness lighten all the day? If you were breasting a keen wind which tossed And buffeted and chilled you as you strove, Till baffled and bewildered quite, you lost The power to see the way, and aim and move, And one, if only for a moment's space, Gave you a shelter from the bitter blast, Would you not find it easier to face The storm again when the brief rest was past?
If you were toiling up a weary hill, Bearing a load beyond your strength to bear. Straining each nerve untiringly and still Stumbling and losing foothold here and there And each one passing by would do so much As give one upward lift and go his way, Would not the slight reiterated touch Of help and kindness lighten all the day? If you were breasting a keen wind which tossed And buffeted and chilled you as you strove, Till baffled and bewildered quite, you lost The power to see the way, and aim and move, And one, if only for a moment's space, Gave you a shelter from the bitter blast, Would you not find it easier to face The storm again when the brief rest was past?
In print by 1911 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Susan Coolidge
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1911 AD · modern
In print by 1911: recorded in The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911) (1911 AD)
Complete signed selection 234; printed byline: Susan Coolidge; Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911; printed copyright 1907
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.