“I am the voice of the voiceless; Through me the dumb shall speak. Till the deaf world's ears be made to hear. The wrongs of the wordless weak. And I am my brothers keeper, And I will fight his fights; And speak the words for beast and bird. Till the world shall set things right.”
“Thank God, I say, for while I love you so, With that vast love, as passionate as tender, I feel an exultation as I know I have not made you a complete surrender. Here is my body; bruise it, if you will, And break my heart; I have that something still. You cannot grasp it”
“In time the earth will be inhabited by almost god-like beings who shall analyze and discuss the remnants of humanity as we now discuss the chimpanzee.”
“Moon and SeaYou are the moon, dear love, and I the sea:The tide of hope swells high within my breast,And hides the rough dark rocks of life's unrestWhen your fond eyes smile near in perigee.But when that loving face is turned from me,Low falls the tide, and the grim rocks appear,And earth's dim coast-line seems a thing to fear.You are the moon, dear one, and I the sea.”
“One ship drives east and another drives westWith the selfsame winds that blow.Tis the set of the sailsAnd not the galesWhich tells us the way to go.Like the winds of the seas are the ways of fate,As we voyage along through the life:Tis the set of a soulThat decides its goal,And not the calm or the strife. ”
“To know for an hour you were mine completely --Mine in body and soul, my own --I would bear unending tortures sweetly,With not a murmur and not a moan.A lighter sin or a lesser errorMight change through hope or fear divine;But there is no fear, and hell has no terror,To change or alter a love like mine.”
“Two Kinds of PeopleThere are two kinds of people on earth today,Two kinds of people no more I say.Not the good or the bad, for it's well understood,The good are half bad, the bad are half good.Not the happy or sad, for in the swift-flying years,Bring each man his laughter, each man his tears.Not the rich or the poor, for to count a man's wealth,You must know the state of his conscience and health.Not the humble and proud, for in life's busy span,Who puts on vain airs is not counted a man.No! the two kinds of people on earth I mean,Are the people who lift, the people who lean.Wherever you go you'll find the world's massesAre ever divided into these two classes.And, strangely enough, you will find, too, I mean,There is only one lifter to twenty who lean.In which class are you? Are you easing the loadOf the overtaxed lifters who toiled down the road?Or are you a leaner who lets others bear,Your portion of worry and labor and care?”