Make Fun Of Life!
  • Learning
    • Activities
    • Printables
    • Foods
    • Alphabet
    • Numbers
    • Time
    • English Grammar
    • Elocution
    • Colors
  • Holidays
    • New Year's Day
    • Groundhog Day
    • Valentine's Day
    • Easter
    • Arbor Day
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving Day
    • Christmas
    • Birthdays
  • Inspiration
    • Everyday Inspiration
    • Personal Development
    • Physical Fitness
    • Christian Faith
    • Christian Quotations
    • Work
    • Disability
    • Moral Conduct
  • Library
    • Adventure
    • Fairy Tales
    • Horror
    • Stories With Morals
    • Quotations
    • Picture Quotations
    • Quotation Collections
    • Nursery Rhymes
    • Essays
    • Correspondence
    • Free Pictures
  • Life
    • Childhood
    • Friendship
    • Adulthood
    • Marriage
    • Family
    • Parenting
    • Generations
    • In Memory
  • Serious
    • Serious Topics
    • Sleep
    • Serious Poems
    • Child Abuse
    • Website Index
    • Website Information
  • Silly
    • Nonsense
    • Picture Jokes
    • Limericks
    • Fake News
    • Beaumont's Bits
    • Silly Songs
  • Society
    • Being Human
    • Biography
    • Geography
    • History
    • Americana
  • World
    • Animals
    • Plants
    • Nature
    • Seasons
    • Weather

A Bag of Tools and Makers of Eternity

3/8/2020

6 Comments

 
Picture
​A Bag of Tools
 
Isn’t it strange
     That princes and kings,
And clowns that caper
     In sawdust rings,
And common people
     Like you and me
Are builders for eternity?
 
Each is given a bag of tools,
     A shapeless mass,
A book of rules;
     And each must make -
Ere life is flown -
     A stumbling block
Or a steppingstone.
 
by R. L. Sharpe (about 1890)
 
The poem “A Bag of Tools” shown above is possibly a shortened, or revised version, of the poem “Makers of Eternity,” by the same author, which follows below.
 
Makers of Eternity

Isn’t it strange, that princes and kings
     and clowns that frolic in circus rings,
And ordinary folk like you and me
     are makers of eternity.

For each is given a bag of tools,
     an hourglass, and a book of rules;
And each shall have built when his hour has flown,
     a stumbling block or a stepping stone.

One step upon another and the longest walk is ended,
     one stitch upon another and the longest rend is mended,
So never be discouraged by the things you have to do,
     and think that such a mighty task you never shall get through;

Just endeavor day by day,
     another point to gain,
And soon the mountain that you feared
     will have become a plain.
 
by R. L. Sharpe
 
Robert Lee Sharpe once told the following story: “One spring day when I was just a kid, my father called me to go with him to Trussell’s blacksmith shop. He had left a rake and a hoe to be repaired. And there they were ready, fixed like new. Father handed over a silver dollar for the repairing. But Mr. Trussell refused to take it. ‘No,’ he said, ‘there’s no charge for that little job.’ But father insisted that he take payment. ‘If I live to be a thousand years,’ said Sharpe, ‘I’ll never forget that old blacksmith’s reply.’ ‘Sid,’ he said to my father, ‘can’t you let an old man do something now and then - just to stretch his soul?’ It’s the old law. The giver receives more than the receiver gets. Bread cast upon the waters comes back a thousand-fold. One who stretches his soul into deeds of love and kindness, unfailingly reaps a just reward.”
 
Robert Lee Sharpe was born on 14 August 1872 in Georgia, United States of America. For several years he worked with his father, Edwin R. Sharp, who owned the “Carrollton Free Press” newspaper and a printing shop in Carrollton. Following in his father’s footsteps, Robert Lee Sharpe became the owner of Sharpe’s Modern Printing Plant in Carrollton. The story behind why Carrollton became known as the ‘City of Smiles’ is that Robert Lee Sharpe published a book every year called “Smiles,” in which he printed pictures of every person that he could get to smile. In the 1920’s and 1930’s, he traveled extensively, as a freelance writer for magazines. Robert Lee Sharpe passed on at 78 years of age on 19 April 1951 and rests in the Carrollton City Cemetery, Carroll County, Georgia, United States of America.
google.com, pub-5004046848211730, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0
6 Comments
Emily Boyle
12/3/2018 10:11:32 am

Thanks for posting these poems by R.L. Sharpe! Would you share the source for the story? :)

Reply
Tony UrbanSmash link
10/1/2020 09:03:57 pm

Giving thanks for this. This poem is quoted in the reggae song “Book of Rules” by the Heptones (Barry Llewelyn) and also in the British rock band’s song “Go Let it Out” by Oasis (Noel Gallagher).

Reply
Tove Hoff Bormes
11/9/2020 02:25:13 pm

Tony, I KNEW I knew this from somewhere! LOL I wondered why I was singing it, the first time I read it. Thanks for helping me know I wasn't either nuts, or conversely suddenly a brilliant musician. ;) Walk safe, my friend. <3

Reply
Dora Ann Dodson
9/19/2021 09:38:48 pm

My 5th grade teacher had the entire class memorize this poem, it’s been my favorite poem and I haven’t forgotten it all these years, that was in 1956.

Reply
Joy Fearon
8/31/2022 11:05:09 am

It is such a wonderful poem. It is so true of our lives. We have a bag of tools so the question is what will we do with them.

Reply
Juliet Den Hollander
10/16/2022 04:01:09 pm

Wonderful poem. Always love to read it.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture of dancing letter characters spelling the words, ‘HELLO WORLD.’
    Picture of abstract colors with the words, ‘Believe You Can, Make It Happen, Learn Every Day, Enjoy Your Life.’
    Picture of dancing letter characters spelling the word, ‘WELCOME.’
    Welcome! It’s going to be a great day! You are on the Everyday Inspiration Page, with a wide column on the left for articles and a narrow column on the right for additional features including links to more than 70 other pages. Continue traveling down this page for more Make Fun Of Life!
    Picture of gold-colored musical notes positioned just above the music or audio controls including the on button and the off button.
    Image shown: Night sky with inspirational text: Reach for the Stars
    Picture of happy smiling Sun partially obscured by clouds with the words, ‘Hello and welcome! You are on www.MakeFunOfLife.net where the Sun shines with bright optimism even from behind the darkest clouds.’
    Picture
    Further fantastically fascinating frivolity and factuality await you on the Make Fun Of Life! Website if you will courageously click or tap on any of the blinking images or colorful words below.
    Click or tap here to visit the Activities Page.
    ​Activities

    Click or tap here to visit the Adulthood Page.
    ​​Adulthood

    Click or tap here to visit the Adventure Page.
    ​​Adventure

    Click or tap here to visit the Alphabet Page.
    ​​​Alphabet

    Click or tap here to visit the Americana Page.
    ​​Americana

    Click or tap here to visit the Animals Page.
    ​​​Animals

    Click or tap here to visit the Arbor Day Page.
    Arbor Day

    Click or tap here to visit the Beaumont's Bits Page.
    Beaumont’s Bits

    Click or tap here to visit the Being Human Page.
    ​​Being Human

    Click or tap here to visit the Biography Page.
    Biography​

    Click or tap here to visit the Birthdays Page.
    Birthdays

    Click or tap here to visit the Child Abuse Page.
    ​Child Abuse

    Click or tap here to visit the Childhood Page.
    ​Childhood

    Click or tap here to visit the Christian Faith Page.
    ​Christian Faith

    Click or tap here to visit the Christian Quotations Page.
    ​Christian Quotations

    Click or tap here to visit the Christmas Page.
    ​Christmas

    Click or tap here to visit the Colors Page.
    ​Colors

    Click or tap here to visit the Correspondence Page.
    ​Correspondence

    Click or tap here to visit the Disability Page.
    ​Disability

    Click or tap here to visit the Easter Page.
    ​​Easter

    Click or tap here to visit the Elocution Page.
    ​Elocution

    Click or tap here to visit the English Grammar Page.
    ​​English Grammar

    Click or tap here to visit the Essays Page.
    Essays

    Click or tap here to visit the Everyday Inspiration Page.
    ​Everyday Inspiration

    Click or tap here to visit the Fairy Tales Page.
    ​Fairy Tales

    Click or tap here to visit the Fake News Page.
    ​Fake News

    Click or tap here to visit the Family Page.
    ​Family

    Click or tap here to visit the Foods Page.
    ​Foods

    Click or tap here to visit the Free Pictures Page.
    ​​​Free Pictures

    Click or tap here to visit the Friendship Page.
    ​Friendship

    Click or tap here to visit the Generations Page.
    Generations

    Click or tap here to visit the Geography Page.
    ​Geography

    Click or tap here to visit the Groundhog Day Page.
    ​Groundhog Day

    Click or tap here to visit the Halloween Page.
    ​​Halloween

    Click or tap here to visit the History Page.
    ​History

    Click or tap here to visit the Holidays Page.
    ​Holidays

    Click or tap here to visit the Horror Page.
    ​Horror

    Click or tap here to visit the In Memory Page.
    ​In Memory

    Click or tap here to visit the Inspiration Page.
    ​Inspiration

    Click or tap here to visit the Learning Page.
    ​Learning

    Click or tap here to visit the Library Page.
    ​Library

    Click or tap here to visit the Life Page.
    ​Life

    Click or tap here to visit the Limericks Page.
    ​Limericks

    Click or tap here to visit the Marriage Page.
    ​Marriage

    Click or tap here to visit the Moral Conduct Page.
    ​Moral Conduct

    Click or tap here to visit the Nature Page.
    ​Nature

    Click or tap here to visit the New Year's Day Page.
    ​New Year’s Day

    Click or tap here to visit the Nonsense Page.
    ​Nonsense

    Click or tap here to visit the Numbers Page.
    ​Numbers

    Click or tap here to visit the Nursery Rhymes Page.
    ​Nursery Rhymes

    Click or tap here to visit the Parenting Page.
    ​Parenting

    Click or tap here to visit the Personal Development Page.
    ​Personal Development

    Click or tap here to visit the Physical Fitness Page.
    ​​Physical Fitness

    Click or tap here to visit the Picture Jokes Page.
    ​Picture Jokes

    Click or tap here to visit the Picture Quotations Page.
    ​Picture Quotations

    Click or tap here to visit the Plants Page.
    ​Plants

    Click or tap here to visit the Printables Page.
    ​Printables

    Click or tap here to visit the Quotation Collections Page.
    ​Quotation Collections

    Click or tap here to visit the Quotationary Page.
    ​Quotationary

    Click or tap here to visit the Quotations Page.
    ​​Quotations

    Click or tap here to visit the Seasons Page.
    ​​Seasons

    Click or tap here to visit the Serious Page.
    ​Serious

    Click or tap here to visit the Serious Poems Page.
    ​Serious Poems

    Click or tap here to visit the Serious Topics Page.
    ​Serious Topics

    Click or tap here to visit the Silly Page.
    ​Silly

    Click or tap here to visit the Silly Songs Page.
    ​​​​Silly Songs

    Click or tap here to visit the Sleep Page.
    ​Sleep

    Click or tap here to visit the Society Page.
    ​Society

    Click or tap here to visit the Stories with Morals Page.
    ​Stories with Morals

    Click or tap here to visit the Thanksgiving Day Page.
    ​Thanksgiving Day

    Click or tap here to visit the Time Page.
    ​Time

    Click or tap here to visit the Valentine's Day Page.
    ​Valentine’s Day

    Click or tap here to visit the Weather Page.
    ​Weather

    Click or tap here to visit the Website Index Page.
    ​Website Index

    Click or tap here to visit the Website Information Page.
    ​Website Information

    Click or tap here to visit the Work Page.
    ​Work

    Click or tap here to visit the World Page.
    ​World

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    ​Do you need a joke, quotation, paragraph, or poem about a particular subject or topic? Go to the search box found at the top right side of this page and type it in. We have a surprising variety of material and we add new stuff regularly, so you might find what you are seeking.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Make Fun Of Life! can be right there with you, at home or wherever you go, on a laptop, cell phone, tablet, or any other internet connected device. Bookmark us and visit whenever you can. We regularly add fascinating new articles just for you!

    Picture
    ​When you reach the bottom of this page on Make Fun Of Life! click on <<Previous or Forward>> to see the next page.

    Picture
    Picture of a happy smiling winking man with thumb up hand gesture and with blue sky and fluffy white clouds in the background.
    You are now on the Make Fun Of Life! Website . . . where humor, inspiration, and learning are back together again - as they were always meant to be.

    Picture
    Picture of bubbles with the words, ‘Be Inspired when you visit www.MakeFunOfLife.net.’
    Picture
    Picture of happy smiling Sun partially obscured by a cloud with the words, ‘Make Fun Of Life! We Just Want You To Be Happy. Visit www.MakeFunOfLife.net.’
    Welcome to the Make Fun Of Life! Website. We are here to bring a little happiness to the world. Would you like to be among the first people to see new articles when they appear on the website? Click on the social media buttons on the left side of your screen and then follow us. We wish you the very best imaginable day, and thank you for visiting!

    Picture
    Picture of gold-colored musical notes positioned just above the music or audio controls including the on button and the off button.
    Picture
    Picture of green leaves surrounding the words, ‘Smile Often, Think Positively, Give Thanks.’
To view more click or tap on
 << Previous or Forward >>
      showing just above.
Proudly powered by Weebly