The 19th century was rife with optimism and positive thinking. Oh, there was the odd Matthew Arnold and Algernon Swinburne trying to bring people down with talk of darkling plains and such. But mostly even when the worst was befalling, someone would play the Invictus card and tell readers to wipe the blood out of their eyes and keep on going.

In tune with this heroic , never-say-die spirit Sir Arthur Hugh Clough penned his wonderfully uplifting "Say Not The Sturggle Naught Availeth," which I update here in a truly self-serving and silly manner.

Yea Though Your
Assets Took A Shearing

Yea though your assets took a shearing
And your credit has gone up in smoke
And all the nostrums you've been hearing
Seem to you a sad cruel joke.

Though markets tumble, even plummet
It may be now they've touched a floor
And soon new leaders who can cut it
Will see that you're not bushed no more.

For while each day, fresh news of sorrow
Seem harbingers of further pain
It's not a sure sign that tomorrow
Won't see gains come back again.

So take a break from present grieving
And with a smile the future see
Find solace in good friends and even
In financial poetry.

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©2008 Michael silverstein