Today’s Poem: Beauty by John Masefield

Beauty

John Masefield

I have seen dawn and sunset on moors and windy hills
Coming in solemn beauty like slow old tunes of Spain:
I have seen the lady April bringing the daffodils,
Bringing the springing grass and the soft warm April rain.

I have heard the song of the blossoms and the old chant of the sea,
And seen strange lands from under the arched white sails of ships;
But the loveliest thing of beauty God ever has shown to me,
Are her voice, and her hair, and eyes, and the dear red curve of her lips.

Source

A Face ~ A Poem by Robert Browning

A Face

Robert Browning

If one could have that little head of hers
Painted upon a background of pure gold,
Such as the Tuscan’s early art prefers!
No shade encroaching on the matchless mould
Of those two lips, which should be opening soft
In the pure profile; not as when she laughs,
For that spoils all: but rather as if aloft
Yon hyacinth, she loves so, leaned its staff’s
Burden of honey-colored buds to kiss
And capture ‘twixt the lips apart for this.
Then her little neck, three fingers might surround,
How it should waver on the pale gold ground
Up to the fruit-shaped, perfect chin it lifts!
I know, Correggio loves to mass, in rifts
Of heaven, his angel faces, orb on orb
Breaking its outline, burning shades absorb:
But these are only massed there, I should think,
Waiting to see some wonder momently
Grow out, stand full, fade slow against the sky
(That’s the pale ground you’d see this sweet face by),
All heaven, meanwhile, condensed into one eye
Which fears to lose the wonder, should it wink.

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Who Am I? A Poem by Carl Sandburg

Who Am I?

Carl Sandburg

My head knocks against the stars.

My feet are on the hilltops.

My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.

Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.

I have been to hell and back many times.

I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.

I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.

I know the passionate seizure of beauty

And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”

My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.

Source

God’s World: A Poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay

God’s World

Edna St. Vincent Millay

O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!

   Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!

   Thy mists, that roll and rise!

Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag

And all but cry with colour!   That gaunt crag

To crush!   To lift the lean of that black bluff!

World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,

         But never knew I this;

         Here such a passion is

As stretcheth me apart,—Lord, I do fear

Thou’st made the world too beautiful this year;

My soul is all but out of me,—let fall

No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

Source

Thinking Out Loud: There’s Always Some Beauty Nearby

In July, 1942, Anne Frank’s parents received a summons from the Nazi’s to report to a labor camp. Instead, they went to a secret annex to hide from Nazi’s. Thirteen year old Anne Frank remained there until her arrest on August 4, 1944, deported and eventually killed. Anne Frank maintained a diary while in the secret annex. The following excerpt is taken from Anne Frank’s diary.

I’ve found that there is always some beauty left — in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you.” ~ Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

NOTE: I went for a walk this evening. The sun was beginning to set. A beautiful sunset was beginning to form. A short distance later I saw a neighbors yard with gold and purple pansies (It’s January and in south Texas we have flowers year round). A mockingbird was sitting on a low tree branch  keeping an eye on me. And a friend sent me a photo of her snow covered yard. It was all beautiful. Anne Frank was right, There is always some beauty left. It’s up to us to slow our minds down and discover what was always there. They help to get us centered and bring a sense of peace.

Today’s Inspiring Quote: A Good Person’s Reflection

Beautiful people are not always good, but good people are always beautiful.

Ali ibn Abi Talib

Today’s Inspiring Quote by Norman Vincent Peale, Enjoy the Wonder of Christmas

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

Norman Vincent Peale

Today’s Poem by Thich Naht Hahn, “You Are Me”

You Are Me

Thich Naht Hahn

You are me and I am you.
It is obvious that we are inter-are.
You cultivate the flower in
yourself so that I will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in myself so
that you do not have to suffer.
I support you you support me.
I am here to bring you peace
you are here to bring me joy.

Source

Today’s Inspiring Quote: Why We Love

“You don’t love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her. Never underestimate the power of love. The way to love anything is to realize it may be lost. The heart has its reasons that reason does not know at all.”

Lord Byron

Today’s Inspiring Quote: A Good Friend is Always Beautiful

To me, fair friend, you never can be old, For as you were when first your eye I ey’d, Such seems your beauty still.

William Shakespeare

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