To his home, his once white, once lov'd cottage,
Late at night, a poor inebriate came;
To his wife, the waiting wife and daughter
Who for him had fann'd the midnight flame.
Rudely met, they answer'd him with kindness --
Gave him all their own untasted store;
'Twas but small, and he with awful curses,
Spurn'd the gift, and drove them from the door.
While the storm, the wild wild wintry tempest,
......
In spite of war, in spite of death,
In spite of all man's sufferings,
Something within me laughs and sings
And I must praise with all my breath.
In spite of war, in spite of hate
Lilacs are blooming at my gate,
Tulips are tripping down the path
In spite of war, in spite of wrath.
"Courage!" the morning-glory saith;
"Rejoice!" the daisy murmureth,
......
Today I opened wide my eyes,
And stared with wonder and surprise,
To see beneath November skies
An apple blossom peer;
Upon a branch as bleak as night
It gleamed exultant on my sight,
A fairy beacon burning bright
Of hope and cheer.
'Alas! ' said I, 'poor foolish thing,
......
How much grit do you think you've got?
Can you quit a thing that you like a lot?
You may talk of pluck; it's an easy word,
And where'er you go it is often heard;
But can you tell to a jot or guess
Just how much courage you now possess?
You may stand to trouble and keep your grin,
But have you tackled self-discipline?
Have you ever issued commands to you
To quit the things that you like to do,
......
"I will to the King,
And offer him consolation in his trouble,
For that man there has set his teeth to die,
And being one that hates obedience,
Discipline, and orderliness of life,
I cannot mourn him."
-- W. B. Yeats.
Patting goodbye, doubtless they told the lad
He'd always show the Hun a brave man's face;
Father would sooner him dead than in disgrace, --
......
A thousand whispers
Echo in my mind
The what ifs and the maybes
That have kept me here, confined.
An inner universe forgotten.
An undiscovered life
To find the courage of acceptance
To heal the child inside
We start with great intentions.
But wobble around
Over and over again
Feeling inadequate
Feeling hopeless.
There are things we would like to change,
But very often than not we fall Short of our dreams & hopes.
Oh! What could be the reason?
......
Woke up to a vision like Mohammad Gaddafi,
Behind bars, freedom was possible to Mandela,
Had to heal the world like Doctor Sebi,
Still fly like a butterfly and sting like bee,
And use that big mouth like 2pac Shakur,
Fighting for survival like Nesta Marley,
Back in Congo, machete left arms disabled,
Intelect and soldier respect to Malcolm X,
At the mountain top Martin saw the dream,
A bouquet of flowers for Rosa parks,
......
It is written in books and for TV,
Like when Harry fought you know who,
Or when Nick Nelson told his family he was bi (actually),
Alec realising it wasn't Lydia he loved,
When Pru, Piper and Phoebe were more powerful together,
The doctor constantly running towards danger,
And when Layken learnt to parent as she grieved.
Yes they have courage,
But there's more courageous people in the real world.
......
Blindfold tied tight
Breathing too fast
Got to move on
Can’t be the last
Leaves underfoot
Roots grab my feet
Got to move on
Can’t miss a beat
Rope in my hand
......