The Endearing Elegance

The endearing elegance of

Female friendship...

~ Samuel Johnson

We Have Been Friends Together

We have been friends together,

In sunshine and in shade,

Since first beneath the chestnut trees

In infancy we played.

~ Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton

To a Friend

Of all the gifts that life may bring,

Your friendship's treasured most of all.

It is a lovely, gracious thing

And steadies me when I would fall.

It comforts me when I know tears

And keeps my feet from paths of wrong;

It strengthens me when there are fears

And keeps m spirit stout and strong.

Your friendship is a valued part

That helps my faith each passing day.

It is a treasure in my heart;

I'm glad we walk in friendship's way.

~ Roy Z. Kemp

Gold

Gold is the gift of vanity and common

pride, but flowers are the gift of love

and friendship.

~ Franz Grillparzer

The Gift

She brought me yellow roses, a floral gift

That never fails to give the heart a lift,

Essence of summer with its warm, gold light,

Their fragrance sweet and petals

a breathtaking sight.

I think, as I put the roses into a bowl,

How much an armful of beauty warms the soul,

This gift of loveliness from friend to friend.

Rich is the giver with rose blooms to spend,

And rich is the recipient who sets each bloom

In a treasured place to light her room.

~ Pauline Harvard

To An Old Friend

Out of the sunny past  you came,

Calling me by my childhood name,

Bringing me meadows rich with wheat,

The sheltered lane and the cool retreat.

Out of the land of used to be

You smiled and gave your hand to me.

Under your spell, I saw once more

The garden gate and the farmhouse door.

Once in a distant glowing time,

Shoulder to shoulder we used to climb,

Green was the hill and the path curved high

To the turquoise arch of the friendly sky.

Gone is farmhouse and the grove;

Gone are the landmarks we used to love;

Gone is our footprint on the hill;

Only our friendship lingers still!

~ Anne Campbell

Early Friendship

The half-seen memories of childish days

When pains and pleasures lightly came and went;

The sympathies of boyhood rashly spent

In fearful wanderings through forbidden ways;

The vague, but manly, wish to tread the maze

Of life to noble ends; whereon intent,

Asking to know for what man here is sent,

The bravest heart must often pause, and gaze ---

The firm resolve to seek the chosen end

Of manhood's judgment, cautious and mature:

Each of these viewless bonds binds friend to friend

With strength no selfish purpose can secure;

My happy lot is this, that all attend

That friendship which first came,

and which shall last endure.

 ~ Stephen E. Spring Rice

Ones Held Dear

There is comfort in old friendships

That I find hard to beat;

A lovely, warm companionship

Exists when old friends meet:

No awkward introductions,

No need to break the ice,

And no disguising feelings

In an effort to be nice.

With a bond of long-shared memories,

Of laughter, maybe tears,

There is a depth of understanding

Developed over many years.

A sort of "old shoe" comfort comes

From feelings that you share;

Each friend's just glad in knowing

That the other one is near,

An interlude of pleasure to 

Remember when apart.

Old friends may leave your presence,

But they never leave your heart.

~ Blanche Garretson

Come Play

Come play with me.
Let's have a race
around the block.
Let's go someplace -
like your back yard.
Let's make a tent -
this blanket would be
excellent.
Do you like fishing
in the creek?
Or riding bikes?
Or hide-and-seek?
I've got some paper,
pencils too.
I think it's fun
to draw. Do you?
And I'd be glad
to share my box
of dinosaurs
and building blocks.
Or we could watch
a video,
Or learn to do
a magic show,
Or make a game
of "let's pretend."
Come play with me.
Come be my friend.

~ Eileen Spinelli

There is No Friend Like an Old Friend

There is no friend like an old friend
who has shared our morning days,
no greeting like his welcome,
no homage like his praise.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr,

Friends

Our early friendships never fade,
Nor do they split frmo wear.
The threads from which these bonds are made
Are memories we share.

Those memories contain a strength
Akin to strength of youth
That,, as the years increase in length,
Intensifies this truth.

Much sharper to the aging eye
Are trials a long time spent.
Much clearer are the days gone by,
With laughter lightly lent,

Than what is going on right now
When problems posed are real
And time's too hurried to allow
The furrowed brow to feel.

We may not meet or clasp the hand
Or even ply the pen,
But still we're sure folks understand
Who knew us way back when

Because there pulls a tighter tie
To old friends than to new;
And they'll agree and tell you why:
They share those memories too.

~ Margaret Rorke

A Sheltering Tree

Flowers are lovely; love is flower-like;
Friendship is a sheltering tree;
Oh, the joys that came down shower-like,
Of friendship, love, and liberty
Ere I was old!

~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Tree

I think of friendship as a tree
That grows in sun or shade:
From seedling to sapling to gnarled old age,
Growth ring added, season to season.
Rooted deep in the heart's bedrock,
This tree holds fast in storm or stress:
It bends with the wind; it does not break.
Friendship seen as a flower is lovely;
But I like to see it as a tree
That greens for all eternity.

~ Minnie Klemme

Be Courteous to All

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few;
And let those few be well tried before you
Give them your confidence. True friendship
Is a plant of slow growth and must undergo
And withstand the shock of adversity
Before it is entitled to the appellation.

~ George Washington

Oh, the Comfort

Oh, the comfort --- the irrepressible comfort of

feeling safe with a person --- having neither to weigh

thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all

night out, just as they are, chaff and grain together,

certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them,

keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of

kindness blow the rest away.

~ Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

Three Joys

I count this day a special day

Because I made a friend,

A friend to share my future days

And happiness extend.

I count this day a special day

Because, as I walked by,

There was a garden filled with blooms

Whose beauty caught my eye.

I count this day a special day

That filled my heart with cheer

Because a cardinal in a tree

Brought music to y ear.

A friend, a flower, a cheerful song

That chanced to come my way

Have brought me joy and helped create

The best of all my days.

~ Carice Williams

A Special Wish

May you always walk where flowers bloom
With a sky of blue above you;
May you always have a heart that sings
And faithful friends to love you;
May you have so many joys to reap,
There'll be no time for pining;
And if a cloud should happen by,
May it have a silver lining.

~ Virginia Richardson

Moments to Cherish

Sweet yesterday's left us;
That is quite clear.
Tomorrow is coming.
This day is here,
So come walk with me
For part of the way.
God willing, together
We;ll share today.
What matter beginnings?
What matter ends?
What's precious are moments
Spent with our friends.

~ June Masters Bacher

A Priceless Gift

Friendship is a priceless gift,
A cherished bond of caring,
That grows richer day by day
By smiling, loving, sharing.
Friends have the special closeness
That  two human hearts may share.
Their trust and admiration
Are mixed with live and prayer.
True friends can make you happy,
Support you through your sorrow;
Their smiles uplift your spirits,
Bringing hope of bright tomorrows.
There's giving and there's taking,
There's talking and listening too.
For this brings understanding
That makes a bond so strong.
A sincere and loyal friend
Lets you dare to be yourself
And is a special gift
That exceeds all earthly wealth.

~ Erla Huber Martin

Look to This Day!

Look to this day!

For it is life, the very life of life.

In its brief course

Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:

The bliss of growth;

The glory of action;

The splendor of achievement;

For yesterday is but a dream,

And tomorrow is only a vision;

But today, well lived, makes every yesterday

a dream of happiness

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day!

~ Kalidasa

The World We Make

We make the world in which we live
By what we gather and what we give,
By our daily deeds and the things we say
By what we keep or we cast away.

We make our world by the beauty we see
In a skylark's song or a lilac tree,
In a butterfly's wing, in the pale moon's rise,
And the wonder that lingers in midnight skies.

We make our world by the life we lead,
By the friends we have, by the books we read,
By the pity we show in the hour of care,
By the loads we lift and the love we share.

We make our world by the goals we pursue,
B the heights we seek and the higher view,
By hopes and dreams that reach the sun
And a will to fight till the heights are won. 

~ Alfred Grant Walton

The Shallow

The shallow... consider liberty a release from all law,

from every constraint. The wise see in it, on the contrary, the potent Law of Laws,

namely, the fusion and combination of the conscious will, or partial individual law,

with those universal, eternal, unconscious ones, which run through all Time,

pervade history, prove immortality, give moral purpose to the

entire objective world, and the last dignity to human life.

~ Walt Whitman

Let Me Be Free

I heard the whistle of a train
As it sped swiftly on its way;
And as it ever fainter grew
I fancied I could hear it say,

"Come fly with me to worlds afar:
Away from all the noise and rush -
Where there is time to rest awhile
And hear the singing of a thrush;

"Where you can lie on cool, green grass
And gaze up in the azure sky,
While being fanned by dancing leaves,
As soft, white clouds go drifting by.

"Come stroll beside a rippling stream
From whence pure, sparkling water flows;
Sit down beneath a willow tree;
Forget the world with all its woes."

A slave to turmoil, stress, and strife
God never meant for man to be;
He made the woodland and the plains

So that man's spirit could be free!

~ Vera Baisel

It is My Living Sentiment

It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God it shall be my dying sentiment ---

independence now and independence forever. 

~ Daniel Webster

Patriot

Whenever I see Old Glory,
It gives a lift to my heart,
And the strains of the national anthem
Still make a teardrop start.
I love the excitement of a parade
And the uninformed men going by;
I am proud of my independence
On each new Fourth of July.
What a wonderful heritage America gives
To those who serve her true,
A haven for the troubled
And a home where respect is due.

~ Shirley Sallay

One Nation

There is a joy in knowing
You are a part of something great,
A fellowship of brotherhood
That is found in every state.
We celebrate our differences
Throughout the tender years
That forged one nation under God
With blood and sweat and tears.

We are proud and independent,
A leader of the world.
We cherish every freedom
Where Old Glory is unfurled.
We wave our flags and celebrate
With fireworks and with tears
And know that every child can grow
To live free and have no fears.

~ Clay Harrison

The Statue of Liberty

The torch of tolerance and light

Is in my tireless hand ---

I send the flame of faith and truth

Across a blessed land.

~ Frank H. Keith

The Symbol

All through the ages --- to this day

A symbol --- reigns the bird of prey.

On nations' banners, forts, and gates,

Armor, currency, and estates;

Hovering there in bold contour,

A sign of strength in peace or war;

O'er lowest sect to station regal,

With stately mien, guards the eagle.

~ Author Unknown

Eagles' Wings

Today my heart wore eagles' wing

And I soared above the clouds;

High above these earthly shrouds

I sang the song of kings.

I found my gold in snow-crowned peaks

And glistening valleys below,

Finding thereby all I seek

And ever need I know.

For after seeing starlight cry,

For after being kissed by rain,

For having soared beyond the sky,

I cannot be the same.

Today my heart wore eagles' wings,

Dare ask me have I changed!

~ Carolyn Elizabeth Grygiel

The Eagle

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

Close to the sun in lonely lands,

Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

He watches from his mountain walls

And like a thunderbolt he falls.

~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson