Keep Cool: Finding Strength in Calm Amid Life’s Storms
When the world weighs heavy, Garvey reminds us: true power lies not in anger or worry, but in the quiet strength of keeping cool.
Keep Cool
Marcus Mosiah Garvey
Suns have set and suns will rise
Upon many gloomy lives;
Those who sit around and say:
“Nothing good comes down our way.”
Some say: “What’s the use to try,
Life is awful hard and dry.”
If they’d bring such news to you,
This is what you ought to do.
Chorus
Let no trouble worry you;
Keep cool, keep cool!
Don’t get hot like some folk do,
Keep cool, keep cool!
What’s the use of prancing high
While the world goes smiling by.
You can win if you would try,
Keep cool, keep cool.
Throw your troubles far away,
Smile a little every day,
And the sun will start to shine,
Making life so true and fine.
Do not let a little care
Fill your life with grief and fear:
Just be calm, be brave and true,
Keep your head and you’ll get through.
Chorus
Let no trouble worry you;
Keep cool, keep cool!
just be brave and ever true;
Keep cool, keep cool!
If they’d put you in a flame,
Though you should not bear the blame,
Do not start to raising cane,
Keep cool, keep cool.
📝 Reflection
Marcus Garvey’s Keep Cool offers a timeless message: life will always bring storms, but how we carry ourselves in those storms defines our peace. The poem urges us to reject despair, anger, or fear, and instead lean into patience, courage, and composure. His refrain, “Keep cool, keep cool”, isn’t about indifference—it’s about discipline, wisdom, and hope. By choosing calm, we avoid being consumed by troubles and instead discover resilience. The sun rises and sets on everyone, yet those who smile, try, and stay steady are the ones who see light return to their lives. Garvey reminds us that calmness is not weakness—it is strength that carries us through trials and teaches us to rise above them.
❓ Three Questions to Dive Deeper
- When troubles weigh on you, do you instinctively “heat up” with frustration, or do you pause and “keep cool”?
- How might smiling and small acts of calm courage change the way you face your daily challenges?
- What does Garvey’s reminder to “be brave and true” mean for your own journey of resilience?