Frederick Douglas Harper
Poems for Young People was written mainly for children, teenagers, and young adults--including college students. For young people, the book provides wise guidance and life-long education about living. The more than 100 poems in Poems for Young People are organized under the following themes: (1) Advice for Young People, (2) On Values, Character, and Morality, (3) Natural Beauty of Earth, (4) Courage, Inspiration, and Strength, (5) Healthy, Happy, and Safe Living, (6) Spirituality and Meaning in Life, (7) Love for Family, (8) Friendship, (9) Loss, Sadness, Grief, and Death, and (10) Identity, Understanding, Self-Esteem, and Self-Acceptance.
Dr. Frederick Douglas Harper has authored more than 300 published poems. His poetry has been recorded on CD, recited at weddings, translated into other languages, reprinted in magazines, and read on WPFW Radio in Washington, DC by Nap Turner for more than 15 years alongside the poetry of the famous Langston Hughes. Harper’s first poem book, Poems on Love and Life, was originally published 1985 and republished in 2004. It has been sold throughout the USA and in numerous other countries, and it has been acclaimed by both readers and reviewers as a classic work. An international scholar and professor of counseling, Harper has authored 13 books, including college textbooks and four other poem books. He has had a longtime interest in work related to helping youth.
ADVICE TO THE YOUNG
Be true to your eyes, ears, thoughts, and feelings;
Listen to your heart but yield to your mind’s best
Judgment;
Be kind and wise in spoken words, for surely your
Words will follow you;
Be not afraid of risks but be cautious of actions
Driven by emotion, confusion, and false friends;
Avoid jealousy of others’ achievements and possessions;
Don’t live with an insatiable greed for more than
You can appreciate or use;
Don’t eat more than your hunger’s call or
Drink beyond your thirst’s needs;
Listen to spirits that favor you and offend not
Those that oppose you;
Absorb yourself in an activity worthy of your unique
Talent, and develop as many common
Potentialities as you desire and can;
Whatever you do, do it as well as you can;
Live comfortably with your conscience,
And be at peace with your soul;
Be courageous in life, while always respecting
Death’s luring and lurking;
Rest when tired and think when you are uncertain;
Be kind to the sacredness of life and respect the
Natural order of the universe;
Follow no one or no thing except your own judgment
And your own divine wish;
Love and respect yourself and your family;
Be all you can by developing yourself;
Do all you can in helping worthy others;
And live a quality and meaningful life.
THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPORTANCE
It’s not so important to be liked,
But to like yourself;
It’s not so important to be good,
But to be better;
It’s not so important to receive respect from others,
But to earn respect for yourself;
It’s not so important to spend money on a person,
But to spend quality time with a person;
It’s not important to be important,
But to be appreciated.
A FRIEND
A friend is
Special for you
And not against you;
Being a friend is in
One’s state of mind,
One’s state of action—
That special one who thinks and acts
For another’s happiness,
For another’s welfare;
Being a friend is giving of self
With joy;
Being a friend is receiving from another
With appreciation;
Being a friend is wanting to be a friend.
