| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Just Folks by Edgar A. Guest: I've been called to the phone for the idlest of chat,
when there was much work to be done;
But never before have I realized quite the thrill
of a message. forsooth,
Till over the wire came these words that I write,
"The baby, my dear, has a tooth."
Home and the Baby
Home was never home before,
Till the baby came.
Love no golden jewels wore,
Till the baby came.
Just Folks |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: Of course, he meant the chief mate to keep quiet - to lay up, as a
matter of fact. His manner was impressive enough, if his English
was childishly imperfect when compared with the fluency of Mr.
Hudig, the figure at the other end of that passage, and memorable
enough in its way. In a great airy ward of a Far Eastern hospital,
lying on my back, I had plenty of leisure to remember the dreadful
cold and snow of Amsterdam, while looking at the fronds of the
palm-trees tossing and rustling at the height of the window. I
could remember the elated feeling and the soul-gripping cold of
those tramway journeys taken into town to put what in diplomatic
language is called pressure upon the good Hudig, with his warm
The Mirror of the Sea |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Just Folks by Edgar A. Guest: From Boston, Frank brought new ones, but father sprang the old;
All afternoon we chatted, telling what we hoped to do,
The struggles we were making and the hardships we'd gone through;
We gathered round the fireside. How fast the hours would fly--
It seemed before we'd settled down 'twas time to say good-bye.
Those were the glad Thanksgivings, the old-time families knew
When relatives could still be friends and every heart was true.
The Old-Fashioned Pair
'Tis a little old house with a squeak in the stairs,
And a porch that seems made for just two easy chairs;
In the yard is a group of geraniums red,
Just Folks |
