Check out the summary of “Have You Earned Your Tomorrow” by Edgar Guest – This is a thought-provoking poem that encourages self-reflection, kindness, and purposeful living. It is perfect for students and readers who want a deeper understanding of its moral message and poetic tone.
Have You Earned Your Tomorrow By Edgar Guest
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Summary of Have You Earned Your Tomorrow By Edgar Guest
The poem “Have You Earned Your Tomorrow” by Edgar Guest follows a regular rhyme scheme of AABB in each stanza. This means that:
The first and second lines rhyme with each other.
The third and fourth lines also rhyme with each other.
Sometimes some poems touch the heart directly. They do not say anything out loud, but their words slowly enter our mind and make us think. This poem “Have You Earned Your Tomorrow” by Edgar Guest is exactly such a creation. There are no difficult words in it, no heavy thoughts — just simple questions of everyday life, which should be asked of every human being.
This poem actually interrupts us — politely, but effectively. We all do something or the other throughout the day, keep running around, but do we ever think whether we made that day a little easier for someone else or not? That is what this poem says.
Basic idea of the poem
The poet asks questions one by one, but these questions are not such that they are asked to answer — these questions are asked to peek inside us. He says —
Did any of your work bring happiness to anyone today?
Did you smile at a stranger?
Did anyone have a little hope from you?
Did you lighten someone’s burden?
There is no criticism in these questions, there is just a friendly tone — as if someone close to us is asking us, “How was your day for someone else?”
Small things have great importance:
We often think that good deeds are big — saving someone’s life, donating crores to someone, etc. But the poet’s view is completely different from this. He says —
“Did you bring a smile to anyone’s face today?”
This may seem like a very simple act, but it actually means a lot. Maybe you gave way to someone, said ‘thank you’ to someone, or spoke politely to a shopkeeper. Such things seem small, but their impact is very deep.
Did someone feel a little better because of you?
The poet also asks whether someone was able to feel a little better about their day because of you? Did someone find support in your words, or a sense of belonging in your behavior?
Many of us are those who silently endure everything. If a little kindness from our behavior lightens the burden on someone’s mind, then hasn’t he really succeeded today?
Humanity is important even in the midst of busyness
Nowadays life has become so fast that people forget to even make eye contact with each other. We are all engrossed in our own worlds. But the poet asks —
“Did you pay attention to someone who needed help but was unable to say it? Was it?”
The poet here does not want to start any social movement, he just wants us to become a little more human, and a little less machine.
Can your today make tomorrow better?
Finally, the poem asks a question that is the most profound —
“Did you do something today that will make your tomorrow really worth earning?”
Here ‘earning’ is not about money. It is about the spiritual satisfaction that we get when we know that we lived our day not only for ourselves, but also for others.
The message hidden in the simplicity of this poem
This poem neither preaches nor imposes any ideal.
It simply says — “Whatever you are doing is right. But can you do a little better, for others?”
Every day is an opportunity to give hope to someone, to give a little respect to someone.
Why is this poem needed in today’s times?
In today’s times when everything is measured in metrics and targets – voices like this poem have become even more important.
The most memorable moment in someone’s life can be when you helped them without any reason. This poem teaches us that even a small kindness can be big.
Conclusion
“Have You Earned Your Tomorrow” is not a poem, but a mirror – in which we can see ourselves. It asks us to pause, and asks –
“You started running in the day’s race… but did you leave anything behind for anyone?”
Every day, there is an opportunity – and this poem reminds us that that opportunity is not just for us, but for someone else too.
Amazon Link : – Edgar Guest Famous Books
Recommended Reading
Asleep in the Valley By Arthur Rimbaud
Mr. Know All By W. Somerset Maugham
I believe that Books Will Never Disappear By Jorge Luis Borges
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