Poems List

Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title.

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.

This is patently absurd; but whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by absurdities.

To any intelligent being, there is no emotion more important than hope. Individually or collectively, we must hope that the future will be better than the past, that our offspring, and theirs after them, will be a bit closer to an ideal society, whatever our perception of that might be... It is at those times when we feel we are contributing to that ultimate end... we feel true elation.

I cannot believe that the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of suffering; surely the strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy!

Dear Mary: We all knew you had it in you.

A healthy family is sacred territory.

The meekest of animals will fight bravely when it is backed against a wall, for it has nothing left to lose. A poor man is more deadly than a rich man because he puts less value on his own life.

Do not weep; do not wax indignant. Understand.

This is on me.

Guilt resembles a sword with two edges. On the one hand, it cuts for Justice, imposing practical morality upon those who fear it. But there is another side to that weighted emotion. Conscience does not always adhere to rational judgment. Guilt is always a self-imposed burden, but it is not always rightly imposed.

We are what we pretend to be, but we better be very careful what we pretend.

Let tears flow of their own accord: their flowing is not inconsistent with inward peace and harmony.

As I grow older and older,

Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.

There is a wide world out there, my friend, full of pain, but filled with joy as well. The former keeps you on the path of growth, and the latter makes the journey tolerable.

In New York City, everyone is an exile, none more so than the Americans.

During [these] periods of relaxation after concentrated intellectual activity, the intuitive mind seems to take over and can produce the sudden clarifying insights which give so much joy and delight.

There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.

It is better, I think, to grab at the stars than to sit flustered because you know you cannot reach them... At least he who reaches will get a good stretch, a good view, and perhaps even a low-hanging apple for his efforts.

I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me that trouble of liking them.

The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them.

The more you suffer , the more you show you really care.

Is yours an honest lament?...Most are not, you know. Most self-imposed burdens are founded on misperceptions. We - at least we of sincere character - always judge ourselves by stricter standards than we expect others to abide by. It is a curse, I suppose, or a blessing, depending on how one views it... Take it as a blessing, my friend, an inner calling that forces you to strive to unattainable heights.