Luck

I hear you tramped the stream all day,

You cast in every nook and bay;

You switched to every kind of bait,

You angled early, angeled late.

You tried a sinker on your hook;

You fished the riffles and to keep

From going home sans any trout,

You bought another fellow out.

Yes, in a word, you had tough luck,

You hit the stream and there you stuck

From dawn till dusk and ne'er a strike--

You swore you never saw the like.

But did you hear the singing stream?

Between your casting did you dream

Of being foot-free in a place

Where willows bend and waters race?

And did you look up through the trees

That seemed to beckon in the breeze

To come away from toil and gloom

Up where the mountain flowers bloom?

Well, if you did you cannot say

You spent a fruitless, wasted day.

What though the fishes wouldn't bite;

Your luck was seeing heaven's light

Shine through the vista of the hills,

Where soft winds blow and water spills!

Your luck was being for a day

In woods where gnomes and naiads play,

To hear the whir of wings go by

As feathered creatures of the sky

Go swift along the deep ravine,

Then vanish where the clouds are seen

Adrift in skies of limpid blue

That canopies the world--and you!

Yes, that's the luck, good fisherman.

So take it where and when you can.

If fish won't bite, do not repine;

The whole glad world is on your line!

You still have got the biggest catch

When comrades bring their creels to match!