POETRY

 

 

 

In men whom men condemn as ill
I find so much of goodness still,
In men whom men pronounce divine
I find so much of sin and blot,
I do not dare to draw a line
Between the two, where God has not.

Joaquin Miller

 

 

CRITICS

What one approves, another scorns,
And thus his nature each discloses;
You find the rosebush full of thorns,
I find the thornbush full of roses.

Arthur Guiterman

 

 

I have four things to learn in life:
To think clearly without hurry or confusion;
To love everybody sincerely;
To act in everything with the highest motives;
To trust in God unhesitatingly.

Helen Keller

 

 

THE LOOM OF TIME

Man's life is laid in the loam of time
To a pattern he does not see,
While the weavers work and shuttles fly
'Til the dawn of eternity.

 

 

A PRAYER

It is my joy in life to find
At every turning of the road
The strong arm of a comrade kind
To help me onward with my load.

And since I have no gold to give,
And love alone must make amends,
My only prayer is, while I live-
God make me worthy of my friends.

Frank Dempster Sherman

 

 

Faithful faithful to every trust,
Honestly honestly in every deed,
Righteously righteously and Justly just:
This is the whole of the good man's creed.

 

 

Death stands above me, whispering low
I know not what into my ear;
Of his strange language all I know
Is, there is not a word of fear.

Walter Savage Landor

 

 

ALCHEMY

I lift my heart as spring lifts up
A yellow daisy to the rain
My heart will be a lovely cup
Altho' it holds but pain.

For I shall learn from flower and leaf
That color every drop they hold,
To change the lifeless wine of grief
To living gold.

Sara Teasdale

 

 

NEW FRIENDS AND OLD FRIENDS

Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friends, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.

Friendships that have stood the test-
Time and change-are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray;
Friendship never knows decay.

For'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we reach and youth renew.
But old friends must alas! may die;
New friends must their place supply;

Cherish friendship in your breast-
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.

Joseph Parry

 

 

UNDERSTANDING

If I knew you and you knew me,
If both of us could clearly see
And with an inner sight divine
The meaning of your heart and mine,
I'm sure that we would differ less,
And clasp our hands in friendliness;
Our thoughts would pleasantly agree
If I knew you and you knew me.

Nixon Waterman

 

 

ONLY THE HUMAN HEART

The robin never Looks
At last year's brittle nest,
Hushes his song, and feels
Grief tear his breast.

Only the human heart
Holds close ots dearest things,
And bears the woulds, the scars,
Their going brings.

Ida Norton Munson

 

 

[ Main ] [ Previous ] [ Next ]