Photo JulineB @ Flickr
“Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities
no doubt have crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely
and with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with
your old nonsense.”
This day is all that is
good and fair.
It is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on yesterdays.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
This poem was shared with me this week via Twelve a class at Big Picture Scrapbooking and all I could think about was school. In the midst of progress reports, starting the third quarter and the half way mark of kindergarten. My students have been with me 44 and 45 days each. The first lines of this poem tug at my heart right now. I think it's very hard to finish each day and be done with it but I find encouragement in knowing I've done what I could. So today, writing workshop is going to be a reflection mini-lesson for today's class. We need to remind ourselves what great pieces of writing look like and previous mini-lessons in hopes of raising the quality of writing.
This week Poetry Friday is being held by Elaine at Wild Rose Reader, thank you for hosting.
I like that line 'with its hopes and invitations'. Although sometimes I'm tired, as I imagine you are too at the end of the week, I do look toward the day like this, and hope you do, too. Thank you for sharing such a good end-of-the-week message, and best wishes in your writing with the students.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this poem, I smiled gleefully at how much of a curmudgeon Emerson sounded like with his:
ReplyDelete"Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could"
and
"begin it well and serenely
and with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with
your old nonsense.”
Indeed, move on, move on - is what Emerson essentially says.
I understand that January is always tough since it's after the holidays and waves and waves of work just crash in - I myself find it difficult to breathe on occasion. But yeah, what to do but simply ride the wave. It'll get better soon. :)
Many thanks for sharing this.
"and with too high a spirit
ReplyDeleteto be cumbered with
your old nonsense.”
Amen!! I want to start each day like that!
Great advice in this poem. Do your best, then move on.
ReplyDeleteThis poem helps me to forgive myself for all kinds of mistakes. Thank you for bringing it to the fore again - I think I'll write in the cover of my new notebook. a.
ReplyDeleteLove this poem. Hangs on my wall at school.
ReplyDeleteMandy~
ReplyDeleteThe first few lines grabbed me right away. If I could walk into each day knowing that the opportunities today are new and have great potential, I can again do all I can do and feel peace that I have done my part this day. Rather than walking into each new day with the burden of yesterdays blunders and doubts of my abilities. If I can do this, each day would be that day when you just feel, "You're in the zone!"
What a great feeling this would be!