I may not reach the heights I seek,
My untried strength may fail me;
Or, half-way up the mountain peak
Fierce tempests may assail me.
...
It is not so much WHERE you live,
As HOW, and WHY, and WHEN you live,
That answers in the affirmative,
Or maybe in the negative,
...
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
...
When you come to me, unbidden,
Beckoning me
To long-ago rooms,
Where memories lie.
...
If there is a future there is time for mending-
Time to see your troubles coming to an ending.
Life is never hopeless however great your sorrow-
...
In spite of war, in spite of death,
In spite of all man's sufferings,
Something within me laughs and sings
And I must praise with all my breath.
...
As a small child I fancied to sail
By ocean to a land of fairy tales,
Camp in a field with Little Red Riding Hood.
Dazzling stars would fire at the Big Bad Wolf.
...
After everything is said and done
Bad dreams and nightmares
Chased away by the coming dawn
Demons stashed into nightstand drawers
...
Underneath our feet we find
Those branches and thorns a grind.
Why is so life so mean
It is as if no other scene.
...