As I Go On My Way
My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done
Leave countless marks for good or ill ere¹ sets this evening sun.
Shall fair or foul its imprint prove, on those my life shall hail?
Shall blessing my impress be, or shall a blight prevail?
When to the last great reckoning the lives I meet must go,
Shall this ever, fleeting touch of mine have added joy or woe?
Shall He who looks their records o’er² - of name and time and place
Say ‘Here a blessed influence came’ or ‘Here is evil’s trace’?
From out each point of contact of my life with other lives
Flows ever that which helps the one who for the summit strives,
The troubled souls encountered - does it sweeten with its touch,
Or does it more embitter those embittered overmuch?
Does love in every handclasp flow in sympathy’s caress?
Do those that I have greeted know a newborn hopefulness?
Are tolerance and charity the keynote of my song
As I go plodding onward with earth’s eager, anxious throng?
My life shall touch a million lives in some way ere¹ I go
From this dear world of struggle to the land I do not know.
So this the wish I always wish, the prayer I ever pray:
Let my life help the other lives it touches by the way.
by Strickland Gillilan
¹ere: before.
²o’er: over.
A shorter version of the poem also exists, as follows.
My Influence
My life shall touch a dozen lives
Before this day is done,
Leave countless marks of good or ill,
E’er sets the evening sun.
This, the wish I always wish,
The prayer I always pray;
Lord, may my life help others lives,
It touches by the way.
by Author Unknown
Strickland Gillilan was born on 21 September 1869 in Scioto Township, Jackson County, Ohio, United States of America. He became a writer, a poet, a lecturer, and a humorist. Mr. Strickland started out as a journalist and worked for newspapers including the “Baltimore American” (1902 - 1905). While on the staff of the Richmond “Daily Palladium,” he wrote a humorous poem about an Irish railroad worker that was published in “Life Magazine” and this led to his national recognition. He is credited with writing the world’s shortest poem, “Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes” (subtitled “Fleas”): “Adam/Had ’em,” which also became one of the world’s most anthologized poems. He traveled the country for years, entertaining enthralled audiences with his witty novels, satirical essays, rollicking songs, and heartwarming poetry. He produced a large body of work during his lifetime. Strickland Gillilan passed on at 84 years of age in April 1954.
My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done
Leave countless marks for good or ill ere¹ sets this evening sun.
Shall fair or foul its imprint prove, on those my life shall hail?
Shall blessing my impress be, or shall a blight prevail?
When to the last great reckoning the lives I meet must go,
Shall this ever, fleeting touch of mine have added joy or woe?
Shall He who looks their records o’er² - of name and time and place
Say ‘Here a blessed influence came’ or ‘Here is evil’s trace’?
From out each point of contact of my life with other lives
Flows ever that which helps the one who for the summit strives,
The troubled souls encountered - does it sweeten with its touch,
Or does it more embitter those embittered overmuch?
Does love in every handclasp flow in sympathy’s caress?
Do those that I have greeted know a newborn hopefulness?
Are tolerance and charity the keynote of my song
As I go plodding onward with earth’s eager, anxious throng?
My life shall touch a million lives in some way ere¹ I go
From this dear world of struggle to the land I do not know.
So this the wish I always wish, the prayer I ever pray:
Let my life help the other lives it touches by the way.
by Strickland Gillilan
¹ere: before.
²o’er: over.
A shorter version of the poem also exists, as follows.
My Influence
My life shall touch a dozen lives
Before this day is done,
Leave countless marks of good or ill,
E’er sets the evening sun.
This, the wish I always wish,
The prayer I always pray;
Lord, may my life help others lives,
It touches by the way.
by Author Unknown
Strickland Gillilan was born on 21 September 1869 in Scioto Township, Jackson County, Ohio, United States of America. He became a writer, a poet, a lecturer, and a humorist. Mr. Strickland started out as a journalist and worked for newspapers including the “Baltimore American” (1902 - 1905). While on the staff of the Richmond “Daily Palladium,” he wrote a humorous poem about an Irish railroad worker that was published in “Life Magazine” and this led to his national recognition. He is credited with writing the world’s shortest poem, “Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes” (subtitled “Fleas”): “Adam/Had ’em,” which also became one of the world’s most anthologized poems. He traveled the country for years, entertaining enthralled audiences with his witty novels, satirical essays, rollicking songs, and heartwarming poetry. He produced a large body of work during his lifetime. Strickland Gillilan passed on at 84 years of age in April 1954.
