It is sad to grow old but nice to ripen.

It is sad to grow old but nice to ripen.

What power had I
before I learned to yield?
Shatter me Great Wind!
I shall possess the field!
Richard Wilbur
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What power had I
before I learned to yield?
Shatter me Great Wind!
I shall possess the field!
Richard Wilbur
a stanza from his poem To A Milkweed.

I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.

I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.

Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits.

Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits.

Maturity is: The ability to stick with a job until it's finished; The ability to do a job without being read more

Maturity is: The ability to stick with a job until it's finished; The ability to do a job without being supervised; The ability to carry money without spending it; and The ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even

By the age of twenty, any young man should know whether or not he is to be a specialist and read more

By the age of twenty, any young man should know whether or not he is to be a specialist and just where his tastes lie. By postponing the question we have set on immaturity a premium which controls most American personality to its deathbed.

The immature man wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mature man wants to live humanely for one.

The immature man wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mature man wants to live humanely for one.

To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity.

To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity.

Maturity is often more absurd than youth and very frequently is most unjust to youth.

Maturity is often more absurd than youth and very frequently is most unjust to youth.