A SMILE
 
I had a friendly smile
I gave that smile away
The milkman and the postman
Seemed glad of it each day
I took it out when shopping
I had it in the street
I gave it - without thinking
To all I chanced to meet
I gave the little ones my smile
And though I'd much to do
I gave it to my neighbours
The old folks had it too
I always gave my smile away
As thoughtless as can be
Yet everytime - how wonderful
MY SMILE RETURNS TO ME
[Ann]
***    DON'T QUIT
 
When things go wrong as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When the care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit
Life is queer with its twists and turns
As everyone of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You might succeed with another blow
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It might be near when it seems so far
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
[Ann]
***    IT COULDN'T BE DONE
 
Somebody said that it couldn't be done
   But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe" it couldn't, but he would be one
   Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
   On his face. If he worried he hid it
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
   That couldn't be done, and he did it.
Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
   At least no one ever has done it";
But he took of his coat and he took of his hat
   And the first thing we knew he'd begun it
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin
   Without any doubting or quiddit
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
   That couldn't be done, and he did it
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done
   There are thousands to prophesy failure
There thousands to point out to you, one by one
   The dangers that wait to assail you
   But just buckle in with a bit of a grin
   Just take off your coat and go to it
   Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
   That "cannot be done", and you'll do it.
[Ann]
***    FRIENDS
 
There is a list of friends I know
All written in a book
And every year at Christmas time
I go and take a look
And that is when I realise that
These names are a part
Not of the book they're written in
But of my very heart.
For each name stands for someone
Who has touched my life sometime
And in that meeting they've become
The "Rythm of the Rhyme"
I really feel I am composed
Of each remembered name
And you may not be aware
Of feeling quite the same
My life is so much better
Than it was before you came
For once that you have known some
The years cannot erase
The memory or a pleasant word
Or of a friendly face
So never think my Christmas cards
Are just a mere routine
Of names upon a list
Forgotton in between
For when I send a Christmas card
That is addressed to you
It is because you're on the list
Of folks I'm indebted to
And whether I've known you
For many a year or few
In some way you have had a part
In shaping the things I do
So every year when Christmas comes
I just realise anew
The biggest gift that God can give
Is knowing folks like you!!!
[Ann]
***    Do Not Stand at My Grave
 
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep,
I am the thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle Autumm rain,
I am the shining star at night,
When you awake to the morning light.
My time has come, I am at rest,
I am the sunset in the West,
I am the clouds that race above,
Where I watch over those I love.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am there, I do not die,
So hear thest words that here I say,
I am the love that guides your way.
[Ann]
***    A CREED TO LIVE BY
 
Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would to your life, for without them life is meaningless.
Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or the future.
By living one day at a time you live all the days of your life.
Don't give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Don't be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love: The fastest way to lose love is to give it wings.
Don't dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope.
To be without hope is to be without purpose.
Don't run through life so fast that you forget where you've been or where you're going.
Life is not a race but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.
[Ann]
***    JUST A LINE....
 
Just a line to say I'm living
and not among the dead,
Though I'm getting more forgetful
and mixed up in the head
I've got used to my arthritis,
to my dentures I'm resigned.
I can manage my bifocals
but, oh dear, I miss my mind!
Sometimes I can't remember
when I'm standing by the stair
If I should go up for something,
or if I've just come down from there.
Before the fridge, so often,
my mind is filled with doubt
Now did I put some food away
or come to take some out?
If it's not my time to write, dear,
I hope you won't be sore
I can't remember if I've written
and I don't want to be a bore.
Just remember that I love you
and wish that you lived near,
But now it's time to post this off,
and so goodbye to you my dear.
But now I'm standing near the post box
and my face I'm sure is red
When I should have posted this to you - I've
opened it instead!!