Next to being witty, 

the best thing is being able to quote another's wit.

--Christian Nestell Bovee

Fire and Smoke

Courage is fire, 

and bullying is smoke.

-- Benjamin Disraeli

Think

Think for yourselves, 

and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.

-- Voltaire

Mediocre Minds

Great spirits 

have always encountered 

violent opposition from mediocre minds.

-- Albert Einstein

Taking Turns

If nature had arranged 

that husbands and wives 

should have children alternatively, 

there would never be more than 

three in a family. 

--Lawrence Housman

My Mother's Hands

My Mother's hands, so thin and work-worn,

      Were loved by me as jewels, rare,

      For they had rocked me in my cradle,

      And, lovingly, they'd stroked my hair.

They worked for me, both night and morning;

      They helped to smooth away my fears,

      For never were these dear hands idle;

      I think of them with love and tears!

My Mother's hands to me were precious:

      I thought their beauty was sublime;

      I felt no harm on earth could touch me

      If they were near me all the time!

--Gertrude Tooley Buckingham

My Mother

Who fed me from her gentle breast

And hushed me in her arms to rest,

And on my cheek sweet kisses prest?

My mother.

Who ran to help me when I fell,

And would some pretty story tell,

Or kiss the place to make it well?

My mother.

--Ann Taylor

Three Words

The sweetest sounds to mortals given

Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven.

--William Goldsmith Brown

A Hundred to One

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,

Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,

Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,

But only one mother the wide world over.

--George Cooper

Martyrdom

Although prepared for martyrdom, 

I preferred that it be postponed.

--Winston Churchill