Poetry

“Barter” Poem About Love by Sara Teasdale

by

Barter

  Life has loveliness to sell,
   All beautiful and splendid things,
  Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
   Soaring fire that sways and sings,
  And children’s faces looking up
  Holding wonder like a cup.

  Life has loveliness to sell,
   Music like a curve of gold,
  Scent of pine trees in the rain,
   Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
  And for your spirit’s still delight,
  Holy thoughts that star the night.

  Spend all you have for loveliness,
   Buy it and never count the cost;
  For one white singing hour of peace
   Count many a year of strife well lost,
  And for a breath of ecstasy
  Give all you have been, or could be.

Will ~ Poem by on Endurance & Confidence

by

Will

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

You will be what you will to be;
   Let failure find its false content
   In that poor word “environment,”
But spirit scorns it, and is free.

It masters time, it conquers space,
   It cowes that boastful trickster Chance,
   And bids the tyrant Circumstance
Uncrown and fill a servant’s place.

The human Will, that force unseen,
   The offspring of a deathless Soul,
   Can hew the way to any goal,
Though walls of granite intervene.

Be not impatient in delay,
   But wait as one who understands;
   When spirit rises and commands,
The gods are ready to obey.

The river seeking for the sea
   Confronts the dam and precipice,

“Yet knows it cannot fail or miss;
You will be what you will to be!”

Excerpt From
Poems of Power
Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The Rainy Day ~ Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

by

THE RAINY DAY

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
    And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
    And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
    Some days must be dark and dreary.

“Anger” by Lord Buddha

by

Anger

by Lord Buddha 

Give up anger; renounce pride;
transcend all worldly attachments.
No sufferings touch the person
who is not attached to name and form,
who calls nothing one’s own.
Whoever restrains rising anger like a chariot gone astray,
that one I call a real driver;
others merely hold the reins.

Overcome anger by love; overcome wrong by good;
overcome the miserly by generosity, and the liar by truth.
Speak the truth; do not yield to anger;
give even if asked for a little.
These three steps lead you to the gods.

“The Undiscovered Country” Poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

by

The Undiscovered Country

Man has explored all countries and all lands,
And made his own the secrets of each clime.
Now, ere the world has fully reached its prime,
The oval earth lies compassed with steel bands,
The seas are slaves to ships that touch all strands,
   And even the haughty elements, sublime
   And bold, yield him their secrets for all time,
And speed like lackeys forth at his commands.

Still, though he search from shore to distant shore,
   And no strange realms, no unlocated plains
Are left for his attainment and control,
Yet is there one more kingdom to explore.
   Go, know thyself, O man! there yet remains
The undiscovered country of thy soul!”

Excerpt From
Poems of Power
Ella Wheeler Wilcox

“Loss and Gain” Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

by

LOSS AND GAIN

     When I compare
What I have lost with what I have gained,
What I have missed with what attained,
  Little room do I find for pride.
     I am aware
How many days have been idly spent;
How like an arrow the good intent
  Has fallen short or been turned aside.
     But who shall dare
To measure loss and gain in this wise?
Defeat may be victory in disguise;
  The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.

Excerpt From
The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“If” Poem by Rudyard Kipling, Narrated by Tom O’Bedlam

by

“The Stars Are Mansions Built by Nature’s Hand” Poem by William Wordsworth

by

The Stars Are Mansions Built by Nature’s Hand

THE stars are mansions built by Nature’s hand,

And, haply, there the spirits of the blest

Dwell, clothed in radiance, their immortal vest;

Huge Ocean shows, within his yellow strand,

A habitation marvelously planned,

For life to occupy in love and rest;

All that we see–is dome, or vault, or nest,

Or fortress, reared at Nature’s sage command.

Glad thought for every season! but the Spring

Gave it while cares were weighing on my heart, 

‘Mid song of birds, and insects murmuring;

And while the youthful year’s prolific art–

Of bud, leaf, blade, and flower–was fashioning

Abodes where self-disturbance hath no part.

 

“Echoes of Love’s House” Poem by William Morris

by

ECHOES OF LOVE’S HOUSE

Love gives every gift whereby we long to live:
“Love takes every gift, and nothing back doth give.”

Love unlocks the lips that else were ever dumb:
“Love locks up the lips whence all things good might come.”

Love makes clear the eyes that else would never see:
“Love makes blind the eyes to all but me and thee.”

Love turns life to joy till nought is left to gain:
“Love turns life to woe till hope is nought and vain.”

Love, who changest all, change me nevermore!
“Love, who changest all, change my sorrow sore!”

Love burns up the world to changeless heaven and blest,
“Love burns up the world to a void of all unrest.”

And there we twain are left, and no more work we need:
“And I am left alone, and who my work shall heed?”

Ah! I praise thee, Love, for utter joyance won!
“And is my praise nought worth for all my life undone?”

“Grin” A Poem About Mental Toughness by Robert W. Service

by

Grin

   If you’re up against a bruiser and you’re getting knocked about —

                                           Grin.

   If you’re feeling pretty groggy, and you’re licked beyond a doubt —

                                           Grin.

   Don’t let him see you’re funking, let him know with every clout,

   Though your face is battered to a pulp, your blooming heart is stout;

   Just stand upon your pins until the beggar knocks you out —

                                           And grin.

   This life’s a bally battle, and the same advice holds true

                                           Of grin.

   If you’re up against it badly, then it’s only one on you,

                                           So grin.

   If the future’s black as thunder, don’t let people see you’re blue;

   Just cultivate a cast-iron smile of joy the whole day through;

   If they call you “Little Sunshine”, wish that THEY’D no troubles, too —

                                           You may — grin.

   Rise up in the morning with the will that, smooth or rough,

                                           You’ll grin.

   Sink to sleep at midnight, and although you’re feeling tough,

                                           Yet grin.

   There’s nothing gained by whining, and you’re not that kind of stuff;

   You’re a fighter from away back, and you WON’T take a rebuff;

   Your trouble is that you don’t know when you have had enough —

                                           Don’t give in.

   If Fate should down you, just get up and take another cuff;

   You may bank on it that there is no philosophy like bluff,

                                           And grin.

Verified by MonsterInsights