“Maybes never are.”

“The tears I feel todayI'll wait to shed tomorrow.Though I'll not sleep this nightNor find surcease from sorrow.My eyes must keep their sight:I dare not be tear-blinded.I must be free to talkNot choked with grief, clear-minded.My mouth cannot betrayThe anguish that I know.Yes, I'll keep my tears til later:But my grief will never go.”

“The little queen all goldenFlew hissing at the sea.To stop each waveHer clutch to saveShe ventured bravely.As she attacked the sea in rageA holderman came nighAlong the sandFishnet in handAnd saw the queen midsky.He stared at her in wonderFor often he'd been toldThat such as sheCould never beWho hovered there, bright gold.He saw her plight and quicklyHe looked up the cliff he facedAnd saw a caveAbove the waveIn which her eggs he placed.The little queen all goldenUpon his shoulder stoodHer eyes all blueGlowed of her trueUndying gratitude.”

“When bad fortune occurs, the unresourceful, unimaginative man looks about him to attach the blame to someone else; the resolute accepts misfortune and endeavors to survive, mature, and improve because of it.”

“Look around you, Lessa of Pern, look around the Weyr with unveiled eyes. Old and hallowed is the Weyr? Yes, but shabby and worn – and disregarded. Yes, you were elated to sit in the Weyrwoman’s great chair at the Council Table, but the padding is thin and the fabric dusty. Humbled to think your hands rest where Moreta’s and Torene’s had rested? Well, the stone is ingrained with dirt and needs a good scrubbing. And your rump may rest where theirs did – but that’s not where you have your brains.”

“A good story is a good story no matter who wrote it.”

“Who wills, Can.Who tries, Does.Who loves, Lives.”