True worth is in being, not seeming,--
  In doing, each day that goes by,
Some little good--not in dreaming
  Of great things to do by and by.
For whatever men say in their blindness,
  And spite of the fancies of youth,
There's nothing so kingly as kindness,
  And nothing so royal as truth.

Salutation to the Dawn
by Kalidasa, Indian Dramatist

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 beauty,
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow 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!
Such is the salutation of the dawn.

Journey
by Diane R. Fornbacher

The fight for continued justice
  is ever-present, never safe
  and so very fulfilling.

To have lived in Love and Courage
  is the better choice than to have died,
Wondering if one had ever lived at all....

Be Strong
by Maltbie Davenport Babcock

    Be Strong!
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have hard work to do, and loads to lift;
Shun not the struggle--Face it; 'tis God's gift.

    Be Strong!
Say not, " The days are evil. Who's to blame?"
And fold the hands and acquiesce--oh shame!
Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God's name.

    Be Strong!
In matters not how deep intrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day how long,
Faint not, fight on!! Tomorrow comes the song!!
 

Peaceable
By Diane R. Fornbacher

Oh Peaceful Day,
  I feel you nearer to my soul.
How long I toiled in
  endless despair!
How long I fretted over
  petty details!
The years--so very long
  and soul-sapping
But I am alive!
      I am still here!
What a mighty fine and
  special soul I must have
To finally be able to experience
   this beauteous peace....
 

Invictus
by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
    Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
    For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell of the clutch of circumstance
    I have not winced or cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
    My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
    Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
    Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how straight the gate,
    How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my Fate;
    I am the captain of my soul.
 

Keep a-Goin
Frank L. Stanton

If you strike a thorn or rose,
    Keep a-goin'!
If it hails or if it snows,
    Keep a-goin'!
'Taint no use to sit an' whine
When the fish ain't on your line;
Bait your hook an' keep a-tryin'--
    Keep a-goin'!

When the weather kills your crop,
    Keep a-goin'!
Though 'tis work to reach the top,
    Keep a-goin!
S'pose you're out of every dime,
Gittin broke ain;t no crime;
Tell the world you're feeling prime--
    Keep a-goin'!

When it looks like all is up,
    Keep a-goin'!
Drain the sweetness from the cup,
    Keep a-goin'!
See the wild birds on the wing,
Hear the bells that sweetly ring,
When you feel like sighin', sing--
    Keep a-goin'!