[JustAmy]

HOW DO I LOVE THEE?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1770-1850)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

[Alamo-Girl]

A treasured poem! Thank you!

[JustAmy]

Autumn
by Bernard Howe

As autumn winds begin to swirl,
leaves dance upon the ground.
The air now has a cool crisp feel,
while the grass begins to brown.

The bounty from the summer crops,
are gathered in autumn's harvest.
Many times the harvest is celebrated,
with a banquet as it is blessed.

Daylight becomes a little shorter,
and at night there comes a frost.
Now it's sweatshirts and sweaters,
as the warm summers days are lost.

Schools have their football season,
with spirit for some competition.
Defending the old time rivalries,
while upholding the old traditions.

As autumn burst out in color,
as leaves and flowers dry.
Thanksgiving will soon arrive,
as foods in great supply.

Halloween a time of celebration
with costumes and decorations.
Trick or treating for some candy,
oftentimes with huge aspirations.

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Monday !

Have a cup while you Freep !

[The Mayor]

[Temple Owl]

Good morning Amy and all. Hope you had a nice weekend.

[Dubya]

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. —Psalm 122:1

Finally we came to the goal of our Iona pilgrimage, the oldest building on the island, a chapel built in the twelfth century. What a bedraggled lot we were, less than half the size of the group that had left the abbey that morning. Exhausted, many with stinging feet and aching backs, but all with overwhelmingly jubilant hearts, we entered the small chapel and stood in silence together. There, in the ethereal glow of the closing day, from somewhere within our group, a soft refrain began to rise, a refrain that had accompanied us throughout the day, "Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia."

What I have carried home with me, more than anything else, is the overwhelming sense of life as an ongoing journey into God's presence, on a road filled with pilgrims—laughing and crying, praying and singing, and sometimes just being silent together in love. As my husband Robert and I have relived our Iona experience, we have been acutely aware of the presence of Daily Guideposts readers walking beside us, as well as all those devout men and women throughout the centuries who have known the heart's longing for God.

Yes, the longing is still there. I think it may be God's way of drawing us home. So I'll continue to follow it as long as I live. Perhaps we'll meet on the way home.
May you be an isle in the sea,
May you be a hill on the shore,
May you be a star in the darkness,
May you be a staff to the weak,
And may the power of the Spirit
Pour on you, richly and generously,
Today, and in the days to come.
(Iona by Peter W. Millar)

[Calpernia]

Morning to Potpourri!

[firewalk]

Good morning

JustAmy, I'm glad to hear that you're safe from the terrible fires there in CA. Prayers for those who may be in danger.

drizzly(sp?) morning here in NJ
( ...is there even such a word...i wonder)

hope everybody has a very nice day

[deadhead]

"HOW DO I LOVE THEE? "

One of my favorite poems!!

Have a great day!

[Billie]

I've missed the last three or four days here and wanted to drop in and catch up with the latest offerings. This one by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is probably the most well-known and oft-repeated love poems of all time.

Thanks, Amy, for keeping this thread alive with beauty. It's a quiet little room where we can come and sit back and read good stuff or just say hello if nothing else.