# Need suggestions for a poem to go on the opening page of the yearbook **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333 "2003-11-20T18:13:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/1 "2003-11-20T18:13:13Z")
Our high school year book staff wanted to use the “The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Suess for the opening page of the yearbook, but there’s some question about whether or not the poem is or is not under public domain, so they’ve elected to find something else. I’m not involved with the yearbook staff at all; I write a fiction column for the school paper, and now that they don’t have a yearbook opener, they want me come up with something to use as a substitute. Writing it myself is an option, but it’s something I’d rather not have to do because—well, inspirational poetry isn’t really my thing, (actually, it’s so _not_ my thing that I don’t know whether I should have laughed in their faces when the asked me or run away in terror). So now I’m stuck trying to find something else that would work as a substitute so I don’t have to turn from satirist to inspirational poet. I was wondering if anyone had a piece that would be appropriate…a poem, short story or something of the like, about a page and a half to a page in length that we could legally use. (Or if anyone knows for sure what the status on “The Places You’ll Go).” Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/2 "2003-11-20T18:42:46Z")
Here I sit all broken hearted That you’ll all soon be departed. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/3 "2003-11-20T19:32:48Z")
There’s always the option of writing it yourself, but making it an acrostic so reading the first letter of each line yields something like, “THISSCHOOLSUCKSDROPOUTBEFOREITSTOOLATE.” Not that I ever did anything like that myself. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/4 "2003-11-20T19:32:48Z")
Ozymandius, by Shelley > [@](#): > > I met a traveller from an antique land, > Who said–“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone > Stand in the desart . . . . Near them, on the sand, > Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, > And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, > Tell that its sculptor well those passions read > Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, > The hand that mocked them, the heart that fed; > And on the pedestal, these words appear: > My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings, > Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! > Nothing beside remains. Round the decay > Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare > The lone and level sands stretch far away.” ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/5 "2003-11-20T20:51:15Z")
Part of an e. e. cummings poem: > [@](#): > > you shall above all things be glad and young > For if you’re young,whatever life you wear > > it will become you;and if you are glad > whatever’s living will yourself become. > … > > I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing > than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance Emily Dickinson: > [@](#): > > Go thy great way! > The Stars thou meetst > Are even as Thyself— > For what are Stars but Asterisks > To point a human Life? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/6 "2003-11-20T23:34:40Z")
An old favorite is Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/7 "2003-11-20T23:37:50Z")
[Here’s](http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/hughes/paths.htm) a link to the text. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![AchimbaProphet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@AchimbaProphet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AchimbaProphet)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/8 "2003-11-21T00:08:50Z")
candy is dandy but liquor is quicker ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/9 "2003-11-21T00:23:17Z")
Philip Larkin, [This Be the Verse](http://plagiarist.com/poetry/?wid=1053). ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/10 "2003-11-21T00:32:17Z")
a haiku: In seven years time you will be pumping my gas Ha ha ha ha ha ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/11 "2003-11-21T00:44:47Z")
\*\*Ralph Waldo Emerson \*\*'s > [@](#): > > To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/12 "2003-11-21T00:48:11Z")
> [@](#): > > The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning. - Ivy Baker Priest > [@](#): > > The end which is the beginning is the end which is the beginning. and here I am, stuck in the middle with you. - Shirley Ujest ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/13 "2003-11-21T00:54:41Z")
There is also , appropriate, I think, a vague poem I recall entitled something like “desirata”. I’m googling as we speak. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/14 "2003-11-21T00:56:36Z")
There is also , appropriate, I think, a vague poem I recall entitled something like “desirata”. I’m googling as we speak. Oh, never mind, Google came through once again. > [@](#): > > Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember > what peace there may be in silence. > As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. > Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to the dull and ignorant; > they too have their story. > Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. > If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, > for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. > Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. > Keep interested in your career, however humble; > it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. > Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. > But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; > many persons strive for high ideals and everywhere life is full of heroism. > Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. > Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, > it is as perennial as the grass. > Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. > Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. > But do not distress yourself with imaginings. > Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. > Beyond a wholesome discipline be gentle to yourself. > You are a child of the universe, > no less than the trees and the stars and you have a right to be here. > And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. > Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. > And whatever your labors and aspirations, > in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul. > With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. > Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. > –Max Ehrmann, 1927. © Robert L. Bell ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/15 "2003-11-21T01:11:02Z")
I think with proper attribution you can use the Suess piece. After all Luis M. Proenza, President of the University of Akron used it for this years [commencement](http://www.uakron.edu/president/co_05_11_03.php). ---
**Author:** ![Truth\_Seeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Truth\_Seeker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truth_Seeker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/16 "2003-11-21T01:53:59Z")
You can’t use The Places You’ll Go without permission from the Seuss estate. You might try contacting them and see if they’ll let you. I know they’re fairly liberal with allowing their stuff to be used on fan sites. Dr. Seuss Enterprises 1200 Prospect Street, Suite 575 La Jolla, CA 92037 **Shirley** , Are you sure you weren’t actually looking for this? > [@](#): > > Deteriorata > > Go placidly amid the noise & waste, & remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. Avoid quiet & passive persons unless you are in need of sleep. Rotate your tires. > > Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself and heed well their advice even though they be turkeys; know what to kiss and when. Consider that two wrongs never make a right but that three do. > > Wherever possible, put people on hold. Be comforted that in the face of all aridity & disillusionment and despite the changing fortunes of time, there will always be a big future in computer maintenance. Remember the Pueblo. > > Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle, & mutilate. Know yourself; if you need help, call the FBI. Exercise caution in your daily affairs, especially with those persons closest to you. That lemon on your left, for instance. > > Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet. Fall not in love therefore; it will stick to your face. > > Gracefully surrender the things of youth, birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan; and let not the sands of time get in your lunch. Hire people with hooks. For a good time, call 606-4311; ask for Ken. > > Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese; and reflect that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be worse in Milwaukee. > > You are a fluke of the universe; you have no right to be here, and whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back. > > Therefore make peace with your God whatever you conceive Him to be: Hairy Thunderer or Cosmic Muffin. With all its hopes, dreams, promises & urban renewal, the world continues to deteriorate. > > Give up. You also can’t really go wrong with anything from [William McGonagall](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A278732) ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/17 "2003-11-22T22:18:39Z")
Thanks a lot for all of the suggestions, guys. The editor wound up going with the selection from “Song of Myself” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-for-a-poem-to-go-on-the-opening-page-of-the-yearbook/214333/18 "2003-11-23T05:13:20Z")
I think you mean by Walt Whitman. I know I’m too late, but what the hell. I was going to suggest this: The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail, And you are stay’d for. There; my blessing with thee! And these few precepts in thy memory Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportion’d thought his act. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel, But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch’d unfledged comrade. Beware Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in, Bear 't, that the opposed may beware of thee. Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice: Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment. Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy: For the apparel oft proclaims the man; And they in France of the best rank and station Are of a most select and generous chief in that. Neither a borrower nor a lender be: For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell: my blessing season this in thee! (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene III) **Otto** Ozymandias is one of my favorite poems, but do you really think that its message is appropriate for this purpose?