poet

My Name Is Trouble ~ Grantland Rice

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My name is Trouble—I’m a busy bloke—

    I am the test of Courage—and of Class—

  I bind the coward to a bitter yoke,

    I drive the craven from the crowning pass;

  Weaklings I crush before they come to fame;

    But as the red star guides across the night,

  I train the stalwart for a better game;

    I drive the brave into a harder fight.

  My name is Hard Luck—the wrecker of rare dreams—

    I follow all who seek the open fray;

  I am the shadow where the far light gleams

    For those who seek to know the open way;

  Quitters I break before they reach the crest,

    But where the red field echoes with the drums,

  I build the fighter for the final test

    And mold the brave for any drive that comes.

  My name is Sorrow—I shall come to all

    To block the surfeit of an endless joy;

  Along the Sable Road I pay my call

    Before the sweetness of success can cloy;

  And weaker souls shall weep amid the throng

    And fall before me, broken and dismayed;

  But braver hearts shall know that I belong

    And take me in, serene and unafraid.

I show the way, at last, beyond the foe,

    To where the scarlet flames of triumph burn.

Grantland Rice

When the Day Came ~ Kabir

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When the Day came –
The Day I had lived and died for –
The Day that is not in any calendar –
Clouds heavy with love
Showered me with wild abundance.
Inside me, my soul was drenched.
Around me, even the desert grew green.

Poem of Courage ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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As the bird trims her to the gale,
I trim myself to the storm of time,
I man the rudder, reef the sail,
Obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime;
“Lowly faithful, banish fear,
Right onward drive unharmed;
The port, well worth the cruise, is near,
And every wave is charmed.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Hymn ~ Anne Bronte

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Eternal power of earth and air,
Unseen, yet seen in all around,
Remote, but dwelling everywhere,
Though silent, heard in every sound.
If e’er thine ear in mercy bent
When wretched mortals cried to thee,
And if indeed thy Son was sent
To save lost sinners such as me.

Then hear me now, while kneeling here;
I lift to thee my heart and eye
And all my soul ascends in prayer;
O give me -­ give me Faith I cry.

Without some glimmering in my heart,
I could not raise this fervent prayer;
But O a stronger light impart,
And in thy mercy fix it there!

While Faith is with me I am blest;
It turns my darkest night to day;
But while I clasp it to my breast
I often feel it slide away.

Then cold and dark my spirit sinks,
To see my light of life depart,
And every fiend of Hell methinks
Enjoys the anguish of my heart.

What shall I do if all my love,
My hopes, my toil, are cast away,
And if there be no God above
To hear and bless me when I pray?

If this be vain delusion all,
If death be an eternal sleep,
And none can hear my secret call,
Or see the silent tears I weep.

O help me God! for thou alone
Canst my distracted soul relieve;
Forsake it not — it is thine own,
Though weak yet longing to believe.

O drive these cruel doubts away
And make me know that thou art God;
A Faith that shines by night and day
Will lighten every earthly load.

If I believe that Jesus died
And waking rose to reign above,
Then surely Sorrow, Sin and Pride
Must yield to peace and hope and love.

And all the blessed words he said
Will strength and holy joy impart,
A shield of safety o’er my head,
A spring of comfort in my heart.

The Divine Image ~ William Blake

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To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
All pray in their distress;
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
Is God, our father dear,
And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
Is Man, his child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity a human face,
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.

Then every man, of every clime,
That prays in his distress,
Prays to the human form divine,
Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.

And all must love the human form,
In heathen, turk, or jew;
Where Mercy, Love, & Pity dwell
There God is dwelling too.

I Measure Every Grief I Meet ~ Emily Dickinson

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I Measure every Grief I meet 

I measure every Grief I meet
With narrow, probing, Eyes–
I wonder if It weighs like Mine–
Or has an Easier size.

I wonder if They bore it long–
Or did it just begin–
I could not tell the Date of Mine–
It feels so old a pain–

I wonder if it hurts to live–
And if They have to try–
And whether–could They choose between–
It would not be–to die–

I note that Some–gone patient long–
At length, renew their smile–
An imitation of a Light
That has so little Oil–

I wonder if when Years have piled–
Some Thousands–on the Harm–
That hurt them early–such a lapse
Could give them any Balm–

Or would they go on aching still
Through Centuries of Nerve–
Enlightened to a larger Pain–
In Contrast with the Love–

The Grieved–are many–I am told–
There is the various Cause–
Death–is but one–and comes but once–
And only nails the eyes–

There’s Grief of Want–and grief of Cold–
A sort they call “Despair”–
There’s Banishment from native Eyes–
In Sight of Native Air–

And though I may not guess the kind–
Correctly–yet to me
A piercing Comfort it affords
In passing Calvary–

To note the fashions–of the Cross–
And how they’re mostly worn–
Still fascinated to presume
That Some–are like My Own–

The Richer Mines ~ John Kendrick Bangs

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When it comes to buying shares

    In the mines of earth,

  May I join the millionaires

    Who are rich in mirth.

  Let me have a heavy stake

    In fresh mountain air—

  I will promise now to take

    All that you can spare.

  When you’re setting up your claim

    In the Mines of Glee,

  Don’t forget to use my name—

    You can count on me.

  Nothing better can be won,

    Freer from alloy,”

“Than a bouncing claim in “Con-

    Solidated Joy.”

  You can have your Copper Stocks

    Gold and tin and coal—

  What I’d have within my box

    Has to do with Soul.

John Kendrick Bangs

If God Invited You To A Party ~ Hafiz

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If God
Invited you to a party
And said,

‘Everyone
In the ballroom tonight
Will be my special
Guest…’

How would you then treat them
When you
Arrived?

Indeed, indeed!

And I know
There is no one in this world

Who
Is not upon
His Jeweled Dance
Floor 

Confidence ~ Sarah Rose

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Confidence

Confidence walks down the halls. 
Her chin up. Her back straight.
Always calm and composed.
She walks with purpose. People move out of her way.
People surround but none are her friend.  
Always chosen to be the leader.
She sets an example. People look up to her.
At night she goes home and collapses in her bed.
Takes out her phone and calls Tiredness her best friend. 

By Sarah Rose

Source

Serenity ~ Lord Byron

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“Here’s a sigh to those who love me
    And a smile to those who hate;
  And whatever sky’s above me,
    Here’s a heart for every fate.”

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