Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

– Robert Frost

Source: Family Friend Poems

I know that I will never know
The true height a sunflower grows

Or the way its petals move and breathe
As it gently floats in the breeze

I will never have the words to say
How beautifully a sunflower grows each day

Or how her gorgeous golden glow
Reflects the sun she intimately knows

I will never cross the seven seas
Or touch each horizon that I see

I may never reach the skies of success
Or live a life without distress

But I will always sit and wonder in bliss
How many flowers the sun has kissed

–Katie Rose Waechter (Published in The Storyteller Magazine)

The road may be long
In myself I must believe
Because my heart is strong

The mountain may be steep
In myself I must believe
Therefore I will not weep

In the face of adversity
In myself I must believe
I’m the master of my destiny

When facing an angry wave
In myself I must believe
Because I’ll always be brave

In spite of life’s complexity
In myself I must believe
Because I will trust serenity

I’ll always do my best to strive
For in myself I’ll always believe
Because my soul is joyful and alive

-Lili Dauphin

Source: Authorsden.com

I want to write poems that inspire
I want the whole world to read my words
And feel a new sense of power
I don’t need my name to be recognized
Or my face to be famous
I just want people to hear my words of wisdom
And feel the need to make a change
Make a change in optimism
Make a change for the better of existence
Because somebody’s got to look out for us
When we won’t
And we don’t
And we don’t even care
And we don’t even try
And we don’t even want to
Because we are so damn comfortable
In our everyday living
With our smart phones and laptops
And tablets and who knows what’s next
Is this really our best?
So I want my words to really make
Our best our best
And to not rest
Until a difference has been made
And our path upwards has been set
Because this downward spiral
Can only go down so far
Until we hit rock bottom
And the regrets start to set in
Because we can no longer fix
The damage that has been done
Or put the bullet back in the gun
Whatever that bullet may be
Because you see
Bullets are not only made of lead and steel
They can be made of pills or oil spills
Disease epidemics, environmental pollution, and nuclear missile testing’s
Our bullets are like illusions
Not only leaving twenty children dead without reason
But leaving us to not compromise
Or come together
But to argue
And ask ourselves
What are we fighting for?
If not for each other
But our differences, our politics
Our religions and even our brothers
Keeps us from actually working together
And I want that to change damnit!
I want my poetry to make it happen!
To make the world see how’ve foolish we’ve been
Not truly living up to our living
Our ability to love and laugh
And make the world better
One step at a time
One light to make shine
No day declined
Until every stomach is fed
Every soul is fulfilled
And every heart finds love
And our questions no longer be about
Who will die today for no reason
But who will live next to make a difference
But that’s not enough!
I want my poetry to make you look in the mirror
And see you can be the one to make the difference
Because you’re the one that’s here
And damnit if you or I don’t get up and try
Then who else will?

–Katie Rose Waechter

Time is a relative thing
Different for you
Different for me
Changing from far of future
To slowly moving present
To where did it all go past
Time does not care who makes it through the lapse
It does not bother with living up to plans
It simply forces us all to play by its hands
Like the hands of a clock that tic by rhythm
Until you forget to notice in your complicated living
That the rhythm has faded into times relativity
And everyone has changed
Including you
Including me
And all that was future has already come to pass
And your life has already gone by in a flash

–Katie Rose Waechter

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air;
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go;
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all,—
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life’s gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain

– Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Source: Family Friend Poems

Breathe In

Take in all that’s bad
All the wrong
And all that’s sad

Hold it in, your growing fears
But don’t let out
Your wanting tears

Reality now hits the heart
But when one things ends
Another starts

The bad begins to make you frown
But hold in that breath
Don’t stay down

Every person young and old
All the bad…
It hurts the soul

But don’t panic yet, your lungs can hold
Everything you know
Beings to set

Know the bad
Know the worse
Know all that started first

Breathe Out

Let it out, the bad you took
But now, don’t let
Yourself work

Leave in the dreams you love so much
Keep them strong
Make them touch

Know the fears, but store them away
Save the fears
For another day

Taking the reality, but turn it around
Find the good
From the down

Let out the air you held so long
Let your soul
Sing its song

See the good from the bad
You will no longer
Feel the sad

Let the good settle in your heart
Now be ready
For a new start

-Katie Rose Waechter

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

– Maya Angelou

Source: Family Friend Poems