In As Much - by G.W. Russell

When for love it was fain of
The wild heart was chidden,
When the white limbs were clothed
And the beauty was hidden;

For the scorn that was done to
The least of her graces,
The Mother veiled over
And hid from our faces.

The high soul of nature,
The deep and the wonder,
Her towers up in heaven,
And the fairyland under.

The Mother then whispered,
"The wrong done by thee
To the least limb of beauty
Was done unto me."

Refuge - by G.W. Russell

Twilight, a timid fawn, went glimmering by,
And Night, the dark-blue hunter, followed fast,
Ceaseless pursuit and flight were in the sky,
But the long chase had ceased for us at last.

We watched together while the driven fawn
Hid in the golden thicket of the day.
We, from whose hearts pursuit and flight were gone,
Knew on the hunter's breast her refuge lay.

Sacrifice - by G.W. Russell

Those delicate wanderers,
The wind, the star, the cloud,
Ever before mine eyes,
As to an altar bowed,
Light and dew-laden airs
Offer in sacrifice.

The offerings arise:
Hazes of rainbow light,
Pure crystal, blue, and gold,
Through dreamland take their flight;
And 'mid the sacrifice
God moveth as of old.

In miracles of fire
He symbols forth his days;
In gleams of crystal light
Reveals what pure pathways
Lead to the soul'd desire,
The silence of the height.

The Silence of Love - by G.W. Russell

I could praise you once with beautiful words 
ere you came
And entered my life with love 
in a wind of flame.
I could lure with a song from afar 
my bird to its nest,
But with pinions drooping together 
silence is best.

In the land of beautiful silence 
the winds are laid,
And life grows quietly one 
in the cloudy shade.
I will not waken the passion 
that sleeps in the heart,
For the winds that blew us together 
may blow us apart.

Fear not the stillness; for doubt and despair 
shall cease
With the gentle voices guiding us 
into peace.
Our dreams will change as they pass through 
the gates of gold,
And Quiet, the tender shepherd, 
shall keep the fold.

When - by G.W. Russell

When mine hour is come
Let no teardrop fall
And no darkness hover
Round me where I lie.
Let the vastness call
One who was its lover,
Let me breathe the sky.

Where the lordly light
Walks along the world,
And its silent tread
Leaves the grasses bright,
Leaves the flowers uncurled,
Let me to the dead
Breathe a gay goodnight.

The Poet's Testament - by George Santayana

I give back to the earth what the earth gave,
All to the furrow, nothing to the grave,
The candle's out, the spirit's vigil spent;
Sight may not follow where the vision went.

I leave you but the sound of many a word
In mocking echoes haply overheard,
I sang to heaven.  My exile made me free,
From world to world, from all worlds carried me.

Spared by the Furies, for the Fates were kind,
I paced the pillared cloisters of the mind;
All times my present, everywhere my place,
Nor fear, nor hope, nor envy saw my face.

Blow what winds would, the ancient truth was mine,
And friendship mellowed in the flush of wine,
And heavenly laughter, shaking from its wings
Atoms of light and tears for mortal things.

To trembling harmonies of field and cloud,
Of flesh and spirit was my worship vowed.
Let form, let music, let all-quickening air
Fulfil in beauty my imperfect prayer.

Fate - by Susan Marr Spalding

Two shall be born, the whole wide world apart,
And speak in different tongues and have no thought
Each of the other's being, and no heed;
And these, o'er unknown seas, to unknown lands
Shall cross, escaping wreck, defying death;
And all unconsciously shape every act
And bend each wandering step to this one end -
That one day out of darkness they shall meet
And read life's meaning in each other's eyes.

And two shall walk some narrow way of life
So nearly side by side that, should one turn
Ever so little space to left or right,
They needs must stand acknowledged, face to face,
And yet, with wistful eyes that never meet,
And groping hands that never clasp, and lips
Calling in vain to ears that never hear,
They seek each other all their weary days
And die unsatisfied - and this is Fate!

Chill of the Eve - by James Stephens

A long green swell
Slopes soft to the sea;
And a far-off bell
Swings sweet to me;
As the grey
Chill day
Slips away
From the lea.

Spread cold and far,
Without one glow
From a mild pale star,
Is the sky's steel bow;
And the grey
Chill day
Slips away
Below.

Yon green tree grieves
To the air around;
And the whispering leaves
Have a lonely sound;
As the grey
Chill day
Slips away
From the ground.

And dark, more dark,
The shades settle down;
Far off is a spark
From the lamp-lit town;
And the grey
Chill day
Slips away
With a frown.

The Roadside Fire - by Robert Louis Stevenson

I will make you brooches 
and toys for your delight
Of bird-song at morning 
and star-shine at night.
I will make a palace 
fit for you and me
Of green days in forests 
and blue days at sea.

I will make my kitchen, 
and you shall keep your room,
Where white flows the river 
and bright blows the broom,
And you shall wash your linen 
and keep your body white
In rainfall at morning 
and dewfall at night.

And this shall be for music 
when no one else is near,
The fine song for singing, 
the rare song to hear!
That only I remember, 
that only you admire,
Of the broad road that stretches 
and the roadside fire.

Loving Memories - by Unknown Author

Your gentle face and patient smile
With sadness we recall
You had a kindly word for each
And died beloved by all.

The voice is mute and stilled the heart
That loved us well and true,
Ah, bitter was the trial to part
From one so good as you.

You are not forgotten loved one
Nor will you ever be
As long as life and memory last
We will remember thee.

We miss you now, our hearts are sore,
As time goes by we miss you more,
Your loving smile, your gentle face,
No one can fill your vacant place.

The Man in the Glass - Author Unknown

Submitted By: Bob McComb

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what THAT man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass;
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

Some people may think you a straight-shootin' chum
And call you a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end.
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life
And get pats on your back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

The Rose Beyond the Wall - by Unknown Author

A rose once grew where all could see,
Sheltered beside a garden wall,
And, as the days passed swiftly by,
It spread its branches, straight and tall...

One day, a beam of light shone through
A crevice that had opened wide-
The rose bent gently toward its warmth
Then passed beyond to the other side...

Now, you who deeply feel its loss,
Be comforted - the rose blooms there-
It's beauty even greater now,
Nurtured by God's own loving care.

Safely Home - by Unknown Author

I am home in Heaven, dear ones;
Oh, so happy and so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief is over,
Every restless tossing passed;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in Heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly
Trod the valley of the shade?
Oh! but Jesus' love illumined
Every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me
In that way so hard to tread;
And with Jesus' arm to lean on,
Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still:
Try to look beyond earth's shadows,
Pray to trust our Father's will.

There is work still waiting for you,
So you must not idly stand;
Do it now, while life remaineth-
You shall rest in Jesus' land.

When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you home;
Oh, the rapture of that meeting,
Oh, the joy to see you come!

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer -
by Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were 
ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, 
to add, divide and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer 
where he lectured with 
much applause in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became 
tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out 
I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night air, 
and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence 
at the stars.

Kids Who Are Different - by Digby Wolfe

Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids who don't always get A's,
The kids who have ears twice the size of their peers,
And noses that go on for days...
Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids they call crazy or dumb,
The kids who don't fit, with the guts and the grit,
Who dance to a different drum...
Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids with the mischievous streak,
For when they have grown, as history's shown,
It's their difference that makes them unique.

The Lover Tells of the Rose
in His Heart - by W.B. Yeats

All things uncomely and broken, 
all things worn out and old,
The cry of a child by the roadway, 
the creak of a lumbering cart,
The heavy steps of the ploughman, 
splashing the wintry mould,
Are wronging your image that blossoms 
a rose in the deeps of my heart.

The wrong of unshapely things 
is a wrong too great to be told;
I hunger to build them anew 
and sit on a green knoll apart,
With the earth and the sky and the water, 
remade, like a casket of gold
For my dreams of your image that blossoms 
a rose in the deeps of my heart.