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Other Poetry II
Something Left Undone
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
LABOR with what zeal we will,
Something still remains undone,
Something uncompleted still
Waits the rising of the sun.
By the bedside, on the stair,
At the threshhold, near the gates,
With its menace or its prayer,
Like a medicant it waits;
Waits, and will not go away;
Waits, and will not be gainsaid;
By the cares of yesterday
Each to-day is heavier made;
Till at length the burden seems
Greater than our strength can bear,
Heavy as the weight of dreams
Pressing on us everywhere.
And we stand from day to day,
Like the dwarfs of times gone by,
Who, as Northern legends say,
On their shoulders held the sky.
The Reaper And The Flowers
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
THERE is a Reaper whose name is Death,
And, with his sickle keen,
He reaps the bearded grain at a breath,
And the flowers that grow between.
"Shall I have nought that is fair?'' saith he;
"Have nought but the bearded grain?
Though the breath of these flowers is sweet to me,
I will give them all back again.''
He gazed at the flowers with tearful eyes,
He kissed their drooping leaves;
It was for the Lord of Paradise
He bound them in his sheaves.
"My Lord has need of these flowerets gay,''
The Reaper said, and smiled;
"Dear tokens of the earth are they,
Where he was once a child.
"They shall all bloom in fields of light,
Transplanted by my care,
And saints, upon their garments white,
These sacred blossoms wear.''
And the mother gave, in tears and pain,
The flowers she most did love;
She knew she should find them all again
In the fields of light above.
O, not in cruelty, not in wrath,
The Reaper came that day;
'Twas an angel visited the green earth,
And took the flowers away.
IF
(Rudyard Kipling)
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember
what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with
all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even the dull and ignorant- they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are a vexation to the
spirit.<
If you compare yourself with others you may become vain and
bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons
than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a
real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is
full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is: many persons
strive for high ideals and everywhere is full of heroism.
Be yourself, especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love for in the face of all adversity
and disenchantment, it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering
the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE UNIVERSE.
No less than the trees and stars, you have a right to be here
and whether or not it is dear to you, no doubt the universe
is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever. you conceive him to
be and whatever your labours and aspirations.
In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham and drudgery and broken dreams, it is still
a beautiful world. Be careful, strive to be happy.
Dust In The Wind
(A song by Kansas)
I close my eyes,
Only for a moment, and the moments gone.
All my dreams,
Pass before my eyes of curiosity.
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind.
Same old song,
It's just a drop of water in an endless sea.
All we do,
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see.
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind.
Now don't hang on,
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky.
It slips away,
And all your money, won't another minute buy.
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind.
I'm There If You Need Me
(Unknown Author)
I can't pretend I know what you are going through
And it would be so easy to be glib
But I am sure you know that I mean it when I say,
I'm always thinking of you.
I am here any time you need me
If you need a shoulder to cry on
Or someone to hug or hold you close
Maybe just to run an errand or help in any other way.
Whatever it may be, please don't think no-one cares
And, who knows, one day I may need you
So please let me show you how much you mean
And make it easier for me.
Candles
(Unknown Author)
If I were to light a candle,
For every reason I love you.
The brightness and warmth,
Would fill a room,
The way my thoughts of you,
Fill my world.
There'd be a candle for your eyes,
As they sparkle with delight,
And another for each of your interests,
As you share them with me.
There'd be candles for the way you talk,
The way you look,
And the way I feel when I'm with you.
If I were to light a candle,
For every reason I love you.
There would be more than you could count.
And the light they'd give,
Would be lovelier than anything I know
Psychotherapy
You do your thing and I do mine.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations
And you are not in this world to live up to mine
I am I and You are You,
And if we should meet it will be beautiful,
And if not, it cannot be helped.
Poem From a Harley Davidson Ad
If I had my life to live over,
I'd try to make more mistakes next time.
I would relax.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I know of very few things I would take seriously. I would take
more chances.
I would take more trips.
I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers and watch more
sunsets.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones.
You see, I am one of those people who live prophylactically
and sanely and sensibly,
Hour after hour, day after day.
Oh, I have had my moments and, if I had to do it over again,
I'd have more of them.
In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after
another.
If I had my life to live over,
I would start bare-footed earlier in the spring and stay that
way later in the fall.
I would play hooky more.
would ride on more merry-go-rounds
I'd pick more daisies.
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