There's Been a Death in the Opposite House by Emily Dickinson. 1. The Road Not Taken. Frost, Robert. 1920. Mountain Interval. Rudyard Kipling: "I Keep Six Honest..." I carry your heart with me by Edward Estlin Cummings. Monsoon History. 'If', by Rudyard Kipling. If If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two imposters just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
A Mature Adult Prayer. Lord, keep me from the habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details---give me wings to get to the point. I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others' pains. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains---they are increasing, and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to become a saint--some of them are so hard to live with--but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people.
And give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so. Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. [Author unknown, from Bill Stebbins ]