If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them; “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man, my son!

~ Rudyard Kipling ~

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it”;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it. (more…)

Today You Star

What great feeling to dawn today
You’ve made the grade, you’re on your way

Adulthood looks you in the eye
You’ll soon decide how high to fly

Your childhood bore so many thoughts
Of friends, of tears, of what life taught

But now you face a whole new view
Your dreams will surface, encompass you (more…)

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, (more…)

The following 10 Handprint Poems can be used in creating gifts from grandchildren to their grandparents for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents Day, birthdays, anniversaries, or any day grandchildren want to make their grandparents feel special. Grandchildren can add one of the poems and their handprints, with the help of an adult if needed, onto unique gifts, such as sweat shirts, T-shirts, tote bags, aprons, pillow cases, notecards, ceramic plates, coffee mugs, framed art work, etc. with colored permanent markers, acrylic paints, or fabric paints depending on the object used. Everything you need is available at your local craft store.

Note: Painting a flower pot (see Bouquet in a Pot for terracotta pot painting instructions)

Here is an idea for art work from a young grandchild: On card stock, paint a flower pot and stem with leaves, then lay the grandchild’s hand in paint (wiping off excess paint) and place it carefully on the paper at the top of the stem. The hand will be the flower. Add a handprint poem such as poem #9, date it, laminate it, frame it with decorative paper, and attach it to magnetic strips for hanging on the grandparents’ refrigerator. It will last for many years to come!

Handprint Poem #1

I miss you when we’re not together
I’m growing up so fast
See how big I’ve gotten
Since you saw me last?
As I grow, I’ll change a lot,
The years will fly right by.
You’ll wonder how I grew so quick
When and where and why?
So look upon this handprint (these handprints)
That’s hanging on your wall.
And memories will come back of me,
When I was very small.

~Author Unknown~ (more…)