I do not want a plain box, I want a sarcophagus
With tigery stripes, and a face on it
Round read more

I do not want a plain box, I want a sarcophagus
With tigery stripes, and a face on it
Round as the moon, to stare up.
I want to be looking at them when they come
Picking among the dumb minerals, the roots.
I see them already-the pale, star-distance faces.
Now they are nothing, they are not even babies.
I imagine them without fathers or mothers, like the first gods.
They will wonder if I was important.

The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it read more

The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be

Punishment is justice for the unjust.

Punishment is justice for the unjust.

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads.

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads.

It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes read more

It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.

To banish cares, scare away sorrow and soothe pain is the business of the poet and singer.

To banish cares, scare away sorrow and soothe pain is the business of the poet and singer.

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

Negation is the mind's first freedom, yet a negative habit is fruitful only so long as we exert ourselves to read more

Negation is the mind's first freedom, yet a negative habit is fruitful only so long as we exert ourselves to overcome it, adapt it to our needs; once acquired it can imprison us.

Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others,
And in their pleasure takes joy, read more

Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others,
And in their pleasure takes joy, even as though t'were his own.