Mary Ann's Favorite Poems

Below are a few of Mary Ann's Favorite poems by other authors

Life's Mirror  ("Madeline Bridges" Mary Ainge De Vere)

There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave,
there are souls that are pure and true:
Then give to the world the best you have,
and the best will come back to you.

Give love, and love to your life will flow,
a strength in your utmost need;
Have faith, and a score of hearts will show
their faith in your word and deed.

Give truth, and your gift will be paid in kind,
and honor will honor meet;
And a smile that is sweet will surely find
a smile that is just as sweet.

Give sorrow and pity to those who mourn;
You will gather in flowers again
The scattered seeds of your thought outborne,
though the sowing seemed but vain.

For life is the mirror of king and slave-
'Tis just what we are and do;
Then give to the world the best you have
and the best will come back to you. 

Drop a Pebble in the Water (James W. Foley)

Drop a pebble in the water:
just a splash, and it is gone;
but there's half-a-hundred ripples
circling on and on and on,

Spreading, spreading from the center,
flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling
where the end is going to be.

Drop a pebble in the water:
in a minute you forget,
but there's little waves a-flowing,
and there's ripples circling yet,

And those little waves a-flowing
to a great big wave have grown;
You've disturbed a mighty river
just by dropping in a stone.

Drop an unkind word, or careless:
in a minute it is gone;
But there's half-a-hundred ripples
circling on and on and on.

They keep spreading, spreading, spreading
from the center as they go,
and there is no way to stop them,
once you've started them to flow.

Drop and unkind word, or careless:
in a minute you forget:
but there's little waves a-flowing,
and there's ripples circling yet,

And perhaps in some sad heart
a mighty wave of tears you've stirred,
and disturbed a life was happy
ere you dropped an unkind word.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
just a flash and it is gone;
but there's half-a-hundred ripples
circling on and on and on,

Bearing hope and joy and comfort
on each splashing, dashing wave
till you wouldn't believe the volume
of the one kind word you gave.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
in a minute you forget;
but there's gladness still a-swelling,
and there's joy a-circling yet,

And you've rolled a wave of comfort
whose sweet music can be heard
over miles and miles of water
just by dropping one kind word.

Believe Me, If  All Those Endearing Young Charms (Thomas Moore)

Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
which I gaze on so fondly today,
Were to change by tomorrow, and fleet in my arms,
like fairy-gifts fading away,

Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
would entwine itself verdantly still.

It is not while beatuy and youth are thine own,
and they cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and faith of a soul may be known,
to which time will but make thee more dear!

No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
but as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns to her god when he sets
the same look which she turned when he rose!