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“The ignorant learn from none,
the simple learn from some,
the intelligent learn from many,
but enlightened learn from all.

The arrogant learn from none,
the gracious learn from some,
the patient learn from many,
but the humble learn from all.

The disinterested learn from none,
the curious learn from some,
the keen learn from many,
but the disciplined learn from all.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo

“When I have to die, I would like to die on a day of rain— long rain, slow rain, the kind you think will never end.”
― Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems, Volume One

“There are strawberries growing among my bulbs. Wild ones, seeded from God knows where, poking their pale little fingers among the tulips and crocuses. Wild strawberries are invasive; not quite as invasive as dandelions, but those little heart-shaped leaves conceal a powerful hunger for conquest, sending their runners everywhere, each one an outpost preparing itself for a future invasion.
And yet I cannot bring myself, père, to curb their cheery exuberance. Though more or less worthless in terms of fruit, the little white flowers and pretty leaves make excellent ground count cover, keeping the thistles and ragwort at bay without suppressing my daffodils. And besides, in summer, there may be enough of the tiny red berries to put on a tart, or flavor a glassful of sweet white wine. That is, if the birds do not steal them first. They too enjoy their sweetness.
Those strawberries will creep, Reynaud, said Narcisse's voice in my mind. Let them stay, and in a month, your beds will be nothing but strawberries.”
― Joanne Harris, The Strawberry Thief

“Starlings in Winter

I feel my boots
trying to leave the ground,
I feel my heart
pumping hard. I want

to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.”
― Mary Oliver, Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays