Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Appreciation

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”—Voltaire

Source

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”—Lewis Carroll

“We human beings are tuned such that we crave great melody and great lyrics. And if somebody writes a great song, it’s timeless that we as humans are going to feel something for that and there’s going to be a real appreciation.”—Art Garfunkel

“My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus."—Stephen Hawking

            Midweek Motif ~ Appreciation

 Appreciation is a motivational word and we all know how a little ‘Thank You’ or a bouquet of flowers might kindle light in a mind of dark despair. Quite magical, especially for the receiver.

Isn’t it an ‘Art’ in itself?

So…craft this Art in your words today.

The Week of Diana

By Maya Angelou

The dark lantern of world sadness has cast its shadow upon the land.
We stumble into our misery on leaden feet.
Our minds seek to comprehend the unknowable and our hearts seek to
Measure a tomorrow without the Sunshine Princess.
Her hands which had held bright tiaras and jewelled crowns,
Also stroked the faces of pain along
Angola's dusty roads.
She was born to the privilege of plenty
Yet, she communed with the needy without a show of pompous piety.
Glowing in Bosnia, radiant at glittering balls,
We came to love her and claim her for her grace and accessibility.
Luminous always.
We smiled to see her enter and grinned at her happiness.
Now the world we made is forever changed…
Made smaller, meaner, less colorful.
Yet, because she did live,
Because she ventured life and confronted change,
She has left us a legacy.
We also may dare…
To care for some other than ourselves and those who look like us.
And maybe we can take a lesson from her
And try to live our lives
With passion, compassion, humor and grace.
Goodbye Sunshine Princess. 

Uncertain Lease – Develops Lustre

By Emily Dickinson

Uncertain lease—develops lustre
On Time
Uncertain Grasp, appreciation
Of Sum—

The shorter Fate—is oftener the chiefest
Because
Inheritors upon a tenure
Prize—

Modern Love XLI: How Many A Thing

By Ogdan Nash

How many a thing which we cast to the ground,

When others pick it up becomes a gem!

We grasp at all the wealth it is to them;

And by reflected light its worth is found.
 

Yet for us still 'tis nothing! and that zeal

Of false appreciation quickly fades.
 

This truth is little known to human shades,

How rare from their own instinct 'tis to feel!

They waste the soul with spurious desire,

That is not the ripe flame upon the bough.
 

We two have taken up a lifeless vow

To rob a living passion: dust for fire!

Madam is grave, and eyes the clock that tells

Approaching midnight.
 We have struck despair

Into two hearts.
 O, look we like a pair

Who for fresh nuptials joyfully yield all else?

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             Next week Susan's Midweek Motif will be ~ Equinox, Equator