POEM by Walt Whitman

"I bequeathe myself to the dirt, to grow from the grass I love;
If you want me again, look for me under your boot-soles.

You will hardly know who I am, or what I mean;
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.

Failing to fetch me at first, keep encouraged;
Missing me one place, search another;
I stop somewhere, waiting for you."

By Walt Whitman

Source: Everyman's Library

Walt Whitman died in Camden, New Jersey on this day in 1892 (aged 72).

Poems: Whitman contains forty-two of the American master's poems, including "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," "Song of Myself," "I Hear America Singing," "Halcyon Days," and an index of first lines.

WHERE THERE IS LOVE

Where there is love the heart is light,
Where there is love the day is bright.

Where there is love there is a song,
To help when things are going wrong.

Where there is love there is a smile,
To make all things seem more worthwhile.

Where there is love there’s quiet peace,
A tranquil place where turmoils cease.

Love changes darkness into light,
And makes the heart take wingless flight.

From Ups, Downs & Roundabouts

ONCE BY THE PACIFIC

"The shattered water made a misty din.
Great waves looked over others coming in,
And thought of doing something to the shore
That water never did to land before.
The clouds were low and hairy in the skies,
Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes.
You could not tell, and yet it looked as if
The shore was lucky in being backed by cliff,
The cliff in being backed by continent;
It looked as if a night of dark intent
Was coming, and not only a night, an age.
Someone had better be prepared for rage.
There would be more than ocean-water broken
Before God's last Put out the light was spoken."

~Robert Frost

Source: from Everyman's Library

TOMORROW IS A BEAUTIFUL ROAD

Tomorrow is a beautiful road
That will take you right where
You want to go...

If you spend today
walking away from worry
and moving towards serenity;
leaving behind conflict
and traveling towards solutions;
and parting with emptiness
and finding fulfillment.

If you can do what works for you,
your present will be happier
and your path will be smoother.

And best of all?
You'll be taking a step
into a beautiful future...

~ © Douglas Pagels

Source: Inspiration Line

ECCE PUER

"Ecce Puer" by James Joyce

"Of the dark past
A child is born;
With joy and grief
My heart is torn.

Calm in his cradle
The living lies.
May love and mercy
Unclose his eyes!

Young life is breathed
On the glass;
The world that was not
Comes to pass.

A child is sleeping:
An old man gone.
O, father forsaken,
Forgive your son!"

This selection of the major poems James Joyce published in his lifetime is accompanied by his only surviving play, Exiles. Joyce is most celebrated for his remarkable novel Ulysses, and yet he was also a highly accomplished poet. Chamber Music is his debut collection of lyrical love poems, which he intended to be set to music; in it, he enlivens the styles of the Celtic Revival with his own brand of playful irony. Pomes Penyeach, a collection written while Joyce was working on A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, sounds intimately autobiographical notes of passion and betrayal that would go on to resonate through the rest of his work. Joyce’s other poems include the moving “Ecce Puer,” written on the birth of his grandson, and his fiery satires “The Holy Office” and “Gas from a Burner.” Exiles was written after Joyce had left Ireland, never to return; it is a richly nuanced drama that reflects a grappling with the state of his own marriage and career as he was about to embark on the writing of Ulysses. In its tale of an unconventional couple involved in a love triangle, Exiles engages Joycean themes of envy and jealousy, freedom and love, men and women, and the complicated relationship between an artist and his homeland.

Source: Everyman's Library

BUY ME A ROSE

He works hard to give her all he thinks she wants —
A three-car garage, her own credit cards;
He pulls in late to wake her up with a kiss goodnight
If he could only read her mind, she'd say . . .
Buy me a rose,
Call me from work,
Open a door for me ...
What would it hurt?
Show me you love me by the look in your eyes,
These are the little things I need the most in my life.

Now the days have grown to years of feeling all alone
And she can't help but wonder what she's doing wrong;
Lately she'd try anything to turn his head,
Would it make a difference if she'd said . . .

Buy me a rose,
Call me from work,
Open a door for me
What would it hurt?
Show me you love me by the look in your eyes,
These are the little things I need the most in my life.

And the more that he lives, the less that he tries
To show her the love that he holds inside;
And the more that she gives, the more that he sees,
This is the story of you and me.

So I bought you a rose
On the way home from work
To open the door
To a heart that I hurt,
And I hope you notice this look in my eyes
'Cause I'm gonna make things right for the rest of your life.

And I'm gonna hold you tonight . . .
Do all those little things for the rest of your life.

~Written by Jim Funk and Erik Hickenlooper
(Sung by Kenny Rogers and Alison Krauss

Source: Inspiration Line

A STRONG WOMAN

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape —
But a woman of strength looks
deep inside to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything —
But a woman of strength shows
courage in the midst of her fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her —
But a woman of strength gives
the best of herself to everyone.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future —
But a woman of strength realizes
life's mistakes can also be blessings and capitalizes on them.

A strong woman walks sure footedly —
But a woman of strength knows
when to ask for help.

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face —
But a woman of strength wears
an aura of grace.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey —
But a woman of strength has faith
that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

~Author Unknown

(March 8, 2014: A Global Day of Celebration connecting all women
around the world and inspiring them to achieve their full potential.)

TIME PASSES BY

Dreams drift away like leaves on the water,
They roll down the river and slip out of sight;
Too many times we do what we ought,
Put off 'til tomorrow what we'd really rather do tonight,
And later realize:

Time passes by, people pass on,
At the drop of a tear, they're gone;
Let's do what we dare, do what we like,
And love while we're here before time passes by.

Thoughts are like pennies we keep in our pockets,
They're never worth nothing 'til we give them away;
But love's like a promise in an unopened letter,
Where nights full of pleasure seldom see the light of day,
When life gets in the way.

Time passes by, people pass on,
At the drop of a tear, they're gone;
Let's do what we dare, do what we like,
And love while we're here before time passes by.

Written by Jon Vezner & Susan Longaker
Sung by Kathy Mattea

Source: Inspiration Line

BLESSINGS

✻ღ♥*✿*•♥ღ✻

May Light always surround you;
Hope kindle and rebound you.

May your Hurts turn to Healing;
Your Heart embrace Feeling.

May Wounds become Wisdom;
Every Kindness a Prism.

May Laughter infect you;
Your Passion resurrect you.

May Goodness inspire
your Deepest Desires.

Through all that you Reach For,
May your arms Never Tire.

~D. Simone

Source:Ups, Downs & Roundabouts

I AM A WILD WOMAN

Woman is the light of God. ~Rumi

♥*✿*•♥

I am a wild woman
I know, inspite of myself
and in spite of what I've been told
that there's beauty in every age
no matter how old

I am a wild woman
I've learned what it means to be a life bearer
to bear children
to create art
to plant seeds of love

I am a wild woman
from the depths of the dirt underneath my fingernails
to the height of my very soul
I am one with the Earth
the winds from the four directions whisper through my skin

I am a wild woman
and the spirit of every wild woman coalesces in me
for we are each wild women
and we are all the spirit of the wild woman
I will follow the voice in my heart

I am a wild woman
I sing from my heart
I dance with the stars
I howl at the moon
I love uncontrollably

I am a wild woman
from the deepest, darkest, most sacred part of me
I am fearless
I cry in strength
I open my arms to the sky and welcome the rain

I am a wild woman
I nurture, love and protect
I stand, strongly, silently, sweetly for my brothers
I walk dutifully, prayerfully, joyfully upon the mother
and I will not be stopped

I am a wild woman.

♥ྀ ♥ྀ ♥ྀ Melissa Clary ♥ྀ ♥ྀ ♥ྀ