Try
*Note that to make the lines single spaced as in the published poem, I had to use the bullets. In the normal published version this is not necessary. Also note there are four sections of grouped lines, as in the original.
Try
- If I had one word that I live by; That one word that I hold so high
- To be repeated and remembered long after I die
- There can be only one to repeat: that one word: “Try”
- Try to find your inner light; Try to do what your heart feels is right
- Try to share a joyous song; Try to fix what you see is wrong
- Try to forgive and to make amends; Try your best to create new friends
- Try to succeed on your own; Try to remember your family at home
- Try to open doors for total strangers; Try to get closer to your next door neighbors
- Try to open your judgmental mind; Try to become more color blind
- Try to enrich an energetic child; Try to make a tired adult smile
- Try to defend the outcast “loser”; Try to envision a more vibrant future
- Try to harvest eternal hope; Try to help the desperate to cope
- Above all else, this you must remember
- You must spread your love – very freely – forever.
Mark Fennell, 6/25/1999