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Poems, Lessons and Notable Quotes


 

Robert Frost

Elizabeth Barrett-Browning

Edgar A. Guest

  • Myself
  • It Couldn't Be Done

Life's Lessons


Quotes

Notable Quotes  


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The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
Stopping By the Wood On a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
 
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
 

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
 

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. 
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Sonnets By Elizabet Barrett-Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet needs, by sun and candlelight
I love thee freely, as men strive for right
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!-and, if God choose.
I shall but love thee better after death.		 If I leave all for thee, wilt thou exchange
And be all to me? Shall I never miss
Home-talk and blessing and the common kiss
That comes to each in turn, nor count it strange,
When I look up, to drop on a new range
Of walls and floors . . . another home than this?
Nay, wilt thou fill that place by me which is
Filled by dead eyes too tender to know change?
That's hardest.  If to conquer love, has tried,
To conquer grief, tries more . .as all things prove
For grief indeed is love and grief beside.
Alas, I have grieved so I am hard to love.
Yet love me - wilt thou? Open thine heart wide,
And fold within, the wet wings of thy dove.
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Myself
I have to live with myself, and so
I want to be fit for myself to know
I want to be able, as days go by
Always to look myself straight in the eye;
I don't want to stand, with the setting sun,
And hate myself for the things I have done

I don't want  to keep on a closet shelf
A lot of secrets about myself,
And fool myself, as I come and go
Into thinking that nobody else will know
The kind of a man I really am;
I don't want to dress up myself in sham.

I want to go out with my head erect,
I want to deserve all men's respect;
But here in the struggle for fame and pelf
I want to be able to like myself.
I don't want to look at myself and know
That I'm bluster and bluff and empty show.

I can never hide myself from me;
I see what others may never see;
I know what others may never know,
I never can fool myself, and so,
Whatever happens, I want to be
Self-respecting and conscience free.

 It Couldn't Be Done
Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face,  If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiet,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out 2 One by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.
 
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Some Important Lessons Life Teaches You...First Most Important Lesson
During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I  was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely, this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman  several  times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?  I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.  Just before  class ended, one student asked if this question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor.  "In your careers, you will  meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'." "I've never forgotten that lesson.  I also learned her name was Dorothy.
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Second Important Lesson:  Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the  side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.  A young white man  stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict filled 1960s.   The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a  taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him.  Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his  surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.  A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits.   Then you came along.  Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others." Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
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Third Important Lesson: Always remember those who serve you.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table.  A waitress put a glass of  water in front of him.  "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty  cents," replied the waitress.  The little boy pulled his hand out of his  pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well,  how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.  By now, more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied."  The little boy again counted his coins.  "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.  The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.  When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the  table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies -You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
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Fourth Important Lesson: The Obstacle in Our Path
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway.  Then he hid  himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the  king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around  it.  Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables.  Upon approaching  the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.  After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that  the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The  peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve  our condition.
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Fifth Important Lesson:  Giving when it counts
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a  little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year  old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.  The doctor explained the  situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying,  "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her.."  As the transfusion progressed, he  lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks.  Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice,  "Will I start to  die right away?"  Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.  You see understanding and attitude, after all, is everything.
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Notable Quotes
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little.  Do what you can.  Sydney Smith

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.  William Arthur Ward

If you only look at what is, you might never attain what could be.   Unknown

Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going.  Jim Ryun

Facts are stubborn things. Alain Rene Lesage

Perseverance is not a long race; is is many short races one after another.  Walter Elliot

If you truly want to understand something, try to change it.  Kurt Lewin

It is wise to keep in mind that no success or failure is necessarily final.  Unknown

I am a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Stephen Leacock

A stumble may prevent a fall.  English proverb

The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.  Teddy Roosevelt

Whoever says money can't buy you happiness doesn't know where to shop. Telegraph Magazine

Obstacles are the things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal. E. Joseph Cossman 

Money is the best cosmetic.  Gregory Nunn

Be moderate in everything, including moderation. Horace Porter
 

 Modesty is the delicate form of hypocrisy. Remy de Gourmont

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Blessed be he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.  Swift

Take care to get what you like, or you will end by liking what you get.  G. Bernard Shaw

The liar's punishment is not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.  George Bernard Shaw

The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything. Oscar Wilde

Everybody sets out to do something, and everybody does something, but no one does what he sets out to do.  George Moore

The secret of success is a secret to many people.

Five secrets of happiness: Money. Money. Money. Money. Money.

The law says girls are minors until they're twenty-one, but a lot of them are gold diggers all of their lives.

They are able because they think they are able. Vergil

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.  Longefellow

To hope is to enjoy.  Jacques de Lille

A room without books is a body without a soul. Cicero

Women are made to be loved, not to be understood.
Oscar Wilde
 
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