"CHILDREN" by Khalil Gibran

Source: Everyman's Library

"And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, 'Speak to us of Children.'
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable."

A bilingual anthology of poems from the sixth century to the present, Arabic Poems is a one-of-a-kind showcase of a fascinating literary tradition. The Arabic poetic legacy is as vast as it is deep, spanning a period of fifteen centuries in regions from Morocco to Iraq. Themes of love, nature, religion, and politics recur in works drawn from the pre-Islamic oral tradition through poems anticipating the recent Arab Spring. Editor Marlé Hammond has selected more than fifty poems reflecting desire and longing of various kinds: for the beloved, for the divine, for the homeland, and for change and renewal. Poets include the legendary pre-Islamic warrior ‘Antara, medieval Andalusian poet Ibn Zaydun, the mystical poet Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya, and the influential Egyptian Romantic Ahmad Zaki Abu Shadi. Here too are literary giants of the past century: Khalil Gibran , author of the best-selling The Prophet; popular Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani; Palestinian feminist Fadwa Tuqan; Mahmoud Darwish, bard of occupation and exile; acclaimed iconoclast Adonis; and more. In their evocations of heroism, nostalgia, mysticism, grief, and passion, the poems gathered here transcend the limitations of time and place.

"PEACEFUL WATERS"

"Thus, the first instruction toward Peace:
is not to be silent, nor to act on a roll of dice.
The first instruction toward Peace is:
One cannot step into the same water twice.

Thus, Peace I leave with you;
My peace I give to you.
And may it be so, world without end.
This being a Truth no human can undo.

For Peace comes from loving what ought never be un-loved,
from an eternal bell that cannot be unrung for any price….
Peace comes from ever knowing in love and in life,
one cannot step into the same water twice."

~Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes
✻ღ♥*✿*•♥ღ✻

Source: Tim Cox Fine Arts

MAN OF THE SEA

D. H. Lawrence

Do you see the sea, breaking itself to bits against
the islands
yet remaining unbroken, the level great sea?

Have I caught from it
the tide in my arms
that runs down to the shallows of my wrists,
and breaks
abroad in my hands, like the waves among the rocks
of substance?

Do the rollers of the sea
roll down my thighs
and over the submerged islets of my knees
with power, sea-power
sea-power
to break against the ground
in the flat, recurrent breakers of my two feet?

And is my body ocean, ocean
whose power runs to the shores along my arms
and breaks in the foamy hands, whose power rolls out
to the white-trending waves of two salt feet?

I am the sea, I am the sea!

Source: Everyman's Library

STILL I'LL RISE

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

╔═════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═════╗

Maya Angelou

╚═════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═════╝

RIP: 28 May 2014

WHERE WE BELONG

we'll find a place
to call our own
it won't be long now
we're almost home

reflections of another time
reflections of another place

the light above
rained down its grace

it's here and now
this time is ours
this journey now
this road we're on
is where we belong

remember us
remember when
so long ago
when it was cold
deep in the woods
the autumn chill
hung in the air
we didn't care

this is our time
this is our place

it's not a dream
this love is real
i can feel it in
my heart can feel
it in my soul

this is where
we both belong.

~Michael Traveler
Postcards from the Past

✧~✧~✧~✧~✧~✧~✧~✧~✧~✧~✧~✧

TIME PASSED

There was a time in my life that I fell in a hole.
I’m not proud about it.
I saw it coming and I still fell in.
It hurt I cried... I cried a lot.
The hole was dark.
I was terrified I might never find my way out.
Time passed.

I planted bitter seeds in the bare earth.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness.
I was still in a hole, but it was MY hole.
It wasn’t so bad.
Time passed.

I began to decorate the walls.
I lined the shelves with books.
I stocked the larder.
It felt comfortable in the hole now.
It wasn’t so bad.
Time passed.

The wall paper began to sag and tear away from the walls. My eyes could see the bare earth beneath.
I saw the roots of the bitter seeds I had planted.
I blessed their gnarled form.
I touched their withered blooms.
I whispered sweet soulful words of hope.
I still cried.... but now I prayed.
Time passed.

I began to read books.
My mind grew curious.
My eyes grew wise.
My heart grew bold.
My body grew restless.
I startled the darkness with a giggle.
It felt wonderful.
I read more, asked more, wanted more.
I grew bold
There was a time when I climbed out of a hole.

©Kristin Louise Granger
23/8/13

Source: FB via Butterflies and Pebbles

PROMISE YOURSELF

Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.
To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

✿*•..¸✿ Christian D. Larson ✿*•..¸✿

Source: Journey to Peace

"POPPIES ON LUDLOW CASTLE"

by Willa Cather (1873-1947)

"THROUGH halls of vanished pleasure,
And hold of vanished power,
And crypt of faith forgotten,
A came to Ludlow tower.

A-top of arch and stairway,
Of crypt and donjan cell,
Of council hall, and chamber,
Of wall, and ditch, and well,

High over grated turrets
Where clinging ivies run,
A thousand scarlet poppies
Enticed the rising sun,

Upon the topmost turret,
With death and damp below,--
Three hundred years of spoilage,--
The crimson poppies grow.

This hall it was that bred him,
These hills that knew him brave,
The gentlest English singer
That fills an English grave.

How have they heart to blossom
So cruel and gay and red,
When beauty so hath perished
And valour so hath sped?

When knights so fair are rotten,
And captains true asleep,
And singing lips are dust-stopped
Six English earth-feet deep?

When ages old remind me
How much hath gone for naught,
What wretched ghost remaineth
Of all that flesh hath wrought;

Of love and song and warring,
Of adventure and play,
Of art and comely building,
Of faith and form and fray--

I'll mind the flowers of pleasure,
Of short-lived youth and sleep,
That drunk the sunny weather
A-top of Ludlow keep."


Before Willa Cather went on to write the novels that would make her famous, she was known as a poet, the most popular of her poems reprinted many times in national magazines and anthologies. Her first book of poetry, April Twilights, was published in 1903, but Cather significantly revised and expanded it in a 1923 edition entitled April Twilights and Other Poems. This Everyman’s Library edition reproduces for the first time all the poems from both versions of April Twilights, along with a number of uncollected and previously unpublished poems by Cather, as well as an illuminating selection of her newly released letters. In such lyrical poems as “The Hawthorn Tree,” “Winter at Delphi,” “Prairie Spring,” “Poor Marty,” and “Going Home,” Cather exhibits both a finely tuned sensitivity to the beauties of the physical world and a richly symbolic use of the landscapes of myth. The themes that were to animate her later masterpieces found their first expression in these haunting, elegiac ballads and sonnets.

Source: Everyman's Library

YOU'VE GOT TO

I know just how it feels
to climb a mountain
only to fall back down;
there’s no will to try again
once you’ve hit the ground

But you’ve got to
You’ve got to move,
And I’ll be there
Be right there to help you

I know just how it feels
to spread your wings
only to never fly;
there’s no desire
to give it another try

But you’ve got to
You’ve got to fly,
And I’ll be there
Be right there to fly with you

I know just how it feels
to put one foot in front of the other
only to stumble before you fall;
there’s no strength left
to give it your all

But you’ve got to
You’ve got to walk,
And I’ll be there
Be right there to break your fall

I know just how it feels
to face the world alone
only to realize you were wrong;
there’s a friend there
to help you along

I’ll always be there to help you along

╔═════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═════╗

Ups, Downs & Roundabouts

╚═════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═════╝

YOU LEARN

After a while you learn
The subtle difference between
Holding a hand and chaining a soul
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn
That kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises
And you begin accept your defeats
With the grace of a woman
Not the grief of a child.
And you learn
To build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow's ground is
Too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way
Of falling down in mid flight
After a while you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much
So you plant your own garden
And decorate your own soul
Instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers
And you learn
That you really can endure
That you are really strong
And you really do have worth
And you learn and you learn
With every goodbye, you learn.

♥*✿*•♥ Veronica A. Shoffstall ♥*✿*•♥

Source: Thyme and Again, FB

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

To those who see with loving eyes,
Life is beautiful.

To those who speak with a tender voice,
Life is peaceful.

To those who help with gentle hands,
Life is full.

And to those who care with compassionate hearts,
Life is good beyond all measures."

♥*✿*•♥ ANON ♥*✿*•♥

ALONENESS

Willing to experience aloneness,
I discover connection everywhere;
Turning to face my fear,
I meet the warrior who lives within;
Opening to my loss,
I am given unimaginable gifts;
Surrendering into emptiness,
I find fullness without end.
Each condition I flee from pursues me.
Each condition I welcome transforms me
And becomes itself transformed
Into its radiant jewel-­like essence.
I bow to the one who has made it so,
Who has crafted this Master Game;
To play it is pure delight,
To honor it is true devotion.

by Jennifer Welwood

Source: Ups, Downs and Roundabouts

A COWBOY'S PRAYER

Oh Lord, I've never lived where churches grow.
I love creation better as it stood,
That day You finished it so long ago
And looked upon Your work and called it good.

I know that others find you in the light
That's sifted down through tinted window panes,
And yet I seem to feel You near tonight
In this dim, quiet starlight on the plains.

I thank You, Lord, that I am placed so well,
That You have made my freedom so complete;
That I'm no slave of whistle, clock, or bell
Nor weak-eyed prisoner of wall and street.

Just let me live my life as I've begun
And give me work that's open to the sky;
Make me a pardner of the wind and sun,
And I won't ask a life that's soft or high.

Let me be easy on the man that's down;
Let me be square and generous with all.
I'm careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town,
But never let 'em say I'm mean or small!

Make me as big and open as the plains,
As honest as the hoss between my knees,
Clean as the wind that blows behind the rains,
Free as the hawk that circles down the breeze!

Forgive me, Lord, if sometimes I forget.
You know about the reasons that are hid.
You understand the things that gall and fret;
You know me better than my mother did.

Just keep an eye on all that's done and said
And right me, sometimes when I turn aside,
And guide me on the long, dim trail ahead
That stretches upward toward The Great Divide.

~Badger Clark

Source: The Horse Mafia, FB

WHEN I WAKE EARLY IN THE MORNING

✻ღ♥*✿*•♥ღ✻

When I wake early in the morning,
A brand new day I see,
I lift my head up to the sky,
And thank God for letting me be me.

Uncertain as to what the day will bring,
Don't know what lies ahead,
Not sure of my confrontations,
I ask God to guide me on the path Ill tread.

The birds sing their sweet, sweet song,
The bees hum their precious melody,
The wind blows where it wishes,
All coming together in perfect harmony.

Down on the ground the ants find their prey,
And the squirrel rambles from tree to tree,
The gopher finds its place in a hole,
And the rabbit roams aimlessly.

The beautiful lily blooms bright and fair,
The roses are red and pink and white,
The dandelions are ready for picking,
And the grass is green and full and bright.

How blue and beautiful the sky is above,
How lovely the stream and river and sea,
And each new day I open my eyes,
I thank God for letting me be me.

╔═════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═════╗

Ups, Downs and Roundabouts

╚═════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═════╝

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 ♥ྀ ♥ྀ ♥ྀ

TAKE TIME

Take time to think - It is the source of all power.
Take time to read - It is the fountain of wisdom.
Take time to play - It is the source of perpetual youth.
Take time to be quiet - It is the opportunity to seek God.
Take time to be aware - It is the opportunity to help others.
Take time to love and be loved - It is God's greatest gift.
Take time to laugh - It is the music of the soul.
Take time to be friendly - It is the road to happiness.
Take time to dream - It is what the future is made of.
Take time to pray - It is the greatest power on earth.
Take time to give - It is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to work - It is the price of success.
There is a time for everything. . . .(Anon)

Source: •● Ups, Downs & Roundabouts ●•