| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Children of the Night by Edwin Arlington Robinson: III
We cannot crown ourselves with everything,
Nor can we coax the Fates for us to quarrel:
No matter what we are, or what we sing,
Time finds a withered leaf in every laurel.
The World
Some are the brothers of all humankind,
And own them, whatsoever their estate;
And some, for sorrow and self-scorn, are blind
With enmity for man's unguarded fate.
For some there is a music all day long
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: on his part, that from that hour I had my suspicions as to the
soundness of his mind. On the following day he left me, leaving me his
house and the free use of my own income, and he went to live in the
Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Genevieve, taking with him my two
children----"
"One moment, madame," said the lawyer, interrupting her. "What was
that income?"
"Twenty-six thousand francs a year," she replied parenthetically. "I
at once consulted old M. Bordin as to what I ought to do," she went
on; "but it seems that there are so many difficulties in the way of
depriving a father of the care of his children, that I was forced to
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad: I was standing quietly by the pantry door when the steward returned.
"Sorry, sir. Kettle barely warm. Shall I light the spirit lamp?"
"Never mind."
I came out on deck slowly. It was now a matter of conscience
to shave the land as close as possible--for now he must go overboard
whenever the ship was put in stays. Must! There could be no going
back for him. After a moment I walked over to leeward and my
heart flew into my mouth at the nearness of the land on the bow.
Under any other circumstances I would not have held on a minute longer.
The second mate had followed me anxiously.
I looked on till I felt I could command my voice.
The Secret Sharer |
