If the sky above seems cloudy,
And you are left out in the rain,
If you are searching for a rainbow,
But the colors bring you pain,
If your world is not revolving,
And there is no end in sight,
If you are looking for the sunshine,
But all you see is night,
If all around are smiling,
But all you can do is frown,
If you are tired of all this living,
When life just brings you down,
Then look beyond your teardrops,
At the wonders of this land,
The beauty of a flower,
Like velvet in your hand.
Feel the air around you,
The smell of new mown hay,
Laughing children in the park,
The innocence there at play,
Imagine floating with a butterfly,
As she flutters between the trees,
Or the whispers of the ocean,
On warm hot summer’s breeze,
Think of the taste of candy floss,
As it melts upon your tongue,
Or the melody of morning birds,
As they greet each day with song,
Remember words of beauty,
Told in your mother’s embrace,
Feel the gentleness of her touch,
As she softly kissed your face,
Seek the good within you,
Cast the clouds from your sky,
Don’t look toward the pavement,
But hold your head up high,
Think not what life owes you,
But of all you have to give,
Forget about tomorrow,
Then you can start to live.
So Bless this age your are living in,
With the gifts you can bestow,
Don’t disregard the stream of life,
Go gently with the flow.
This poem should be attributed to Torre DeVito.
I am not sure where you found this version, but it is a botched up copy of a poem I wrote in high school. The correct version reads:
Go Gently With the Flow
If the sky above is cloudy, and you’re left out in the rain,
And you’re searching for a rainbow, but the colors bring you pain;
If your world is not revolving, and there is no end in sight,
And you’re looking for the sunshine, but all you see is night;
If all around are smiling, but all you do is frown,
And you’re tired of all this living, and life just brings you down:
Then look beyond your teardrops to the beauty of this land,
Or feel a flower’s petals like velvet in your hand,
Or hear the children laughing, like innocence at play,
Or feel the air around you, or smell the new-mown hay.
Contemplate a butterfly, Or the wind amongst the trees,
Or the whisper of the ocean, or the warmth of summer’s breeze,
Or the taste of cotton candy as it melts upon your tongue,
Or the melody of birds, as they greet the morning sun,
Remember words of beauty, and your father’s strong embrace,
Or your mother’s gentle touch, as she softly kissed your face.
Seek the good within you, cast the clouds out from your sky,
Don’t look toward the pavement, and hold your head up high,
Think not on what life owes you, but on all you have to give,
Forget about your sorrow, count your blessings, start to live,
Each day that you are given is a gift that life bestows,
Don’t fight against the current, but go gently with the flow.
Torre DeVito
1978