PoemWhatever Else You Do
Author / PoetMax Ehrmann

Whatever else you do or forbear,
impose upon yourself the task of happiness;
and now and then abandon yourself
to the joy of laughter.

And however much you condemn
the evil in the world, remember that the
world is not all evil; that somewhere
children are at play, as you yourself in the
old days; that women still find joy
in the stalwart hearts of men;

And that men, treading with restless feet
their many paths, may yet find refuge
from the storms of the world in the cheerful
house of love.

Max Ehrmann
Max Ehrmann
26 Sep 1872 - 9 Sep 1945
Region: Central America
Period: Modernist
Movement: Inspirational Literature

more poems by Max Ehrmann

Poem NameTopic
Wanderers
Reforming Oneself
Desiderata – Words for Life
Dark Days
A PrayerChildhood, Dream, Memori

all poems by Max Ehrmann

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