| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Helen of Troy And Other Poems by Sara Teasdale: One after one.
I said, "He loves me, loves me not,"
And oh, my heart beat fast,
The flower was kind, it let me say
"He loves me," last.
I kissed the little leafless stem,
But oh, my poor heart knew
The words the flower had said to me,
They were not true.
VII
I sent my love a letter,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Davis: the pallet, holding his head in her arms with the ferocity of a
watch-dog, if any of them touched the body. There was no
meekness, no sorrow, in her face; the stuff out of which
murderers are made, instead. All the time Haley and the woman
were laying straight the limbs and cleaning the cell, Deborah
sat still, keenly watching the Quaker's face. Of all the crowd
there that day, this woman alone had not spoken to her,--only
once or twice had put some cordial to her lips. After they all
were gone, the woman, in the same still, gentle way, brought a
vase of wood-leaves and berries, and placed it by the pallet,
then opened the narrow window. The fresh air blew in, and swept
 Life in the Iron-Mills |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Within the Tides by Joseph Conrad: . George follows him, shivering from time to time. The waves are
washing over the old pier; not much wind, a wild, gloomy sky over
the bay. In the whole world only one tug away off, heading to the
seas, tossed in and out of sight every minute as regular as
clockwork.
"They meet the coxswain and he tells them: Yes! He's going out
again. No, they ain't in danger on board - not yet. But the
ship's chance is very poor. Still, if the wind doesn't pipe up
again and the sea goes down something might be tried. After some
talk he agrees to take Cloete on board; supposed to be with an
urgent message from the owners to the captain.
 Within the Tides |