| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Familiar Studies of Men and Books by Robert Louis Stevenson: Chinese letters, or, as we might say, in the classics, and in
his father's subject; fortification was among his favourite
studies, and he was a poet from his boyhood. He was born to
a lively and intelligent patriotism; the condition of Japan
was his great concern; and while he projected a better
future, he lost no opportunity of improving his knowledge of
her present state. With this end he was continually
travelling in his youth, going on foot and sometimes with
three days' provision on his back, in the brave, self-helpful
manner of all heroes. He kept a full diary while he was thus
upon his journeys, but it is feared that these notes have
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Love Songs by Sara Teasdale: Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.
Twilight
Dreamily over the roofs
The cold spring rain is falling;
Out in the lonely tree
A bird is calling, calling.
Slowly over the earth
The wings of night are falling;
My heart like the bird in the tree
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane: the front row at a theatre. Women, without, bended toward each
other and whispered, nodding their heads with airs of profound
philosophy. A baby, overcome with curiosity concerning this object
at which all were looking, sidled forward and touched her dress,
cautiously, as if investigating a red-hot stove. Its mother's
voice rang out like a warning trumpet. She rushed forward and
grabbed her child, casting a terrible look of indignation at the girl.
Maggie's mother paced to and fro, addressing the doorful of
eyes, expounding like a glib showman at a museum. Her voice rang
through the building.
"Dere she stands," she cried, wheeling suddenly and pointing
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets |
