In the Maze

From the Rock Island Argus, November 26, 1912.
By Duncan M. Smith.
 

 What a crisscross maze is life
     Take it any way you choose
 In the never ending strife
     As you gain and as you lose!
 Luck is with you now and then
     As you hurry for your goal
 Twisting through the maze again
     You are pitched into a hole.
 
 Out of it you scramble up,
     Hoping to do mighty deeds
 Still of sorrow you must sup
     Ere your budding hope succeeds.
 How you struggle, how you groan,
     As you buckle to your task
 Just to make success your own,
     Just in fortune’s smile to bask!
 
 But it isn’t all a frost.
     There are seasons to be gay.
 Hope is never wholly lost
     Joys are blooming on your way.
 There’s a path to your success
     You will find it after while
 If you seek with cheerfulness
     And you don’t forget to smile.