My father was a school teacher. Sometime in the early 1950s he received a small paperback booklet of poetry in a packet of advertising material from a book publishing company.
The little book was no more than three inches wide by about four inches tall. My father gave it to me for a gift. I can’t remember whether I enjoyed reading the booklet as a whole, but it was printed with pretty flowers and I loved owning it; and there was a t least one little poem that resonated with my small child heart. I memorized it then and still quote it to myself every once in a while. I don’t know if this poem had a by line or not, but I trust that after all these years, even if I can’t attribute it to any particular author or publisher, whoever wrote it and whoever published it would not mind if I quote it now.
I’ve got a heap of troubles
And I’ve got to work them out
But I look around and see
There’s trouble all about;
And when I see my troubles,
I just look up and grin
And count all the trouble
That I’m not in.
( Author Unknown)
Thank you to whomever it was who wrote this poem, simple enough for a young child to memorize and profound enough for an old woman to appreciate. Over the many years since I first learned it, it has often been a blessing to me.
Whenever I find myself immersed in a “heap of troubles” it’s good to remember that when it comes to trouble, I’m not alone. We all have hardship in this life.
Betty Killebrew
