In Reference to the Poem: DON’T QUIT
I WAS BORN IN 1945, WHICH MAKES ME 65 YEARS OLD. BEING VERY MISCHIEVOUS RIGHT AT THE AGE OF 10 I WAS THRUST INTO A BOARDING SCHOOL, WHERE IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN IN THE YEAR 1956 OR 57, I HAD HEARD ABOUT THIS POEM FROM MY ENGLISH TEACHER, MR. MAHABALESHWARWALLA, WHO COULD TEACH ENGLISH IN A VERY STYLE HIS OWN. I HAVE MY DOUBTS IF ANYBODY ELSE COULD TEACH IN HIS STYLE. HE HAD TOLD US ABOUT THIS POEM AND ON OUR REQUEST WROTE DOWN ON THE BLACK BOARD AND MADE US COPY AND BY HEART IT WHICH I STILL KNOW BY HEART, AND REGRET THAT NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT THERE ARE 4 PARAGRAPHS AND NOT THREE.
He had told us that the history of this poem goes something like this: A blind man wrote this poem and sold it on the streets of London. People liked it so much that it got very famous and its fame was spread far and wide in the English speaking world and ultimately the author was forgotten. So all the credit seekers for this poem are just publicity seekers, because I believe in my English teacher.