Poetry Reading Samples

~The Friend In Your Mirror~

Speak gently to yourself.
Speak freely in praise of all you are.
Speak clearly with pride in all you have been.
Speak bravely with hope for all you may become.
Find in yourself the powers that only you possess,
The pains that only you can overcome,
The promises that only you can keep.
Look deeply into the mirror of your life
And discover the very special person that only you can be.



Believe in Miracles!
by Vickie M. Worsham

Love your life.
Believe in your power,
Your own potential,
And your own innate goodness.
Every morning, wake with the awe of just being alive.
Each day, discover the magnificent,
awesome beauty in the world.
Explore and embrace life in yourself
and in everyone you see each day.
Reach within to find your own specialness.
Amaze yourself,
and rouse those around you to the potential of each new day.
Do not be afraid to admit you are less than perfect;
This is the essence of your humanity.
Let those who love you help you.
Trust enough to be able to take.
Look with hope to the horizon of today,
For today is all we truly have.
Live this day well.
Let a little sunshine out as well as in.
Create your own rainbows.
Be open to all your possibilities;
Possibilities can be miracles.
Always believe in miracles.


~Kindness~
By Virginia Moise Rosefield

Our God, who has given us
The privilege of choosing good over evil,
Grant me, I pray, one attribute above all others -
Grant me kindness.
If I am kind, I cannot do to others
That which I would not have done to me.
If I am kind, I cannot be selfish and grasping,
But must share Your bounty with others;
Causing joys both great and small,
By thoughtful deeds and gifts.

If I am kind, I cannot dishonor my parents
By harsh word or wicked deed.
If I am kind, I cannot carry hurtful gossip to break another's heart,
Nor could I bear false witness against my neighbor.
If I am kind, I cannot take another's possessions for my own.
I cannot steal that which another holds dear and has labored to obtain.

If I am kind, I cannot covet that which belongs to my neighbor
Longing to deprive her of her loved ones,
Her home, her possessions, and take them for my own;
Rather would I rejoice in her good fortune.

If I am kind, above all I cannot kill -
I cannot harm or hurt the weak, the poor, the young, the old.
I cannot cause a little child to cry nor mistreat a helpless creature.
I cannot take pleasure in the weeping of women, nor the despair of men.
I cannot hate. I cannot revile. I cannot ignore the needs of others.

And so I pray, O God, Grant me kindness -
Your all-encompassing kindness.



To plan for five years, plant Kala
To plan for ten years, plant Koa
To plan for 100 years, teach the children.
~Hawaiian Proverb~