Poetry Corner
by Lawrence Spiro

This fall, a person of prominence and vision passed away. Nick Monte, the owner and developer of Gurney’s Inn, died at the age of 91. He purchased the business from Mrs. Maude Gurney who was one of the first female entrepreneurs in Montauk. Mr. Monte kept a tenor of a soft and nurturing approach in developing his resort. He used the lure of the ocean, and the need for people to rest, dine and play in quiet luxury as a means of success. I am an owner of the Wavecrest Resort on the Ocean. Wavecrest is located on the same strip of ocean as Gurney’s. All the owners of Wavecrest share appreciation for the high standards Mr. Monte achieved in designing and creating the modern Gurney’s Inn. Every person who has a connection to Montauk owes a thank you to Nick Monte for establishing himself here.

The following poem “It Couldn’t be Done,” was written by Edgar A. Guest. It is a poem about positive thinking which I feel is the driving force of a person with vision and determination.

It Couldn’t Be Done

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it”;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

Edgar A. Guest