Poem: The Good and the Bad by Robert Knapp

Poem: The Good and the Bad by Robert Knapp

Written February 3, 1965, as part of the creative writing class taken by Robert Knapp in Lake Stevens/Everett area of Snohomish County, Washington.

The Good and the Bad

You have all had your portions of sorrow and pain,
And have struggled thru life, without very much gain.
You have climbed the steep hills, and you’ve wandered the valleys.
God knows what you’ve done and your marked in his tally.

With the wonderful promise, of the life that’s to come,
So free to each soul, big small, old, and young.
The rich and the poor folks will be much the same,
When they stand in the judgement, and He calls their name.

So open that Bible and read the Dear Words,
Faithfully pray, and your prayers will be heard.
Rejoice for tomorrow may be one day too late,
The insurance is costly that protects you from fate.

Deaths bound to come, no matter how famous,
And no matter how great that your bankroll may be.
For He knows every soul, and can easily name us,
And He has a place there, for you and for me.

So many are mourning their loved ones that’s gone,
Just as sure as there’s morning, and as sure as there’s down,
We’ll all have to meet Him, to be judged for our lives,
So try to do right and, keep a pure heart within.

Most Recent Articles by Robert F. Knapp (1913-1994)


Robert F. Knapp (1913-1994)

About Robert F. Knapp (1913-1994)

Robert F. Knapp was born Wausaukee, Wisconsin, in 1913, and moved with his family to the Pacific Northwest in the 1930s. His father, James Asa Knapp Jr., worked in the logging camps and rarely spent much time with his eight children. Eventually, James and the children's mother, Emma Beatrice Primley, divorced and Emma packed up the family and headed west. Robert grew up working odd jobs in logging camps, railroad camps, on farms, and taking what work could come his way until finding steady work and a home with his wife, Evelyn, in Monroe and Lake Stevens, Washington. He had four children and many grandchildren. Robert left behind a legacy of stories and poems written for a creative writing class throughout 1960-1980, writing of life growing up in Northern Wisconsin and the struggles to find work with a huge family to support through the Depression. Permission to reprint this has been graciously granted by the family of Robert F. Knapp with the hope that you will enjoy reading about the life and times of this amazing man.
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