~*~Roses~*~

Roses Always Make a Garden a Bit More Lovely

By Helen Steiner Rice

Like roses in a garden,
Kindness fills the air
With a certain bit of sweetness
As it touches everywhere.
For kindness in a circle
That never, never ends
But just keeps ever-widening
In the circle of our friends.
For happiness is only found
In bringing it to others
And thinking of the folks next door
As sisters and as brothers.
For the more you give, the more you get
Is proven everyday,
And so to get the most from life
You must give yourself away.
And if this greedy world today
Would only start to give
Life everywhere for everyone
Would me more sweet to live.

A Dozen Roses

I got a dozen roses,
From a friend the other day;
But I only have 1 left,
For I gave them all away.

I gave one to my sister,
Who to me is very dear,
In hopes that it will bring to her
A little floral cheer.

I took one to a friend
Who's not feeling very well;
The flower or the visit -
Which helped more I could not tell.

One went to a friend
I haven't known for very long.
She struggles, so in some small way
I hope this helps her carry on.

The rest went to the ones
Who've helped me in so many ways;
They have been a cheerful presence
On my very dreary days.

The roses were so pretty
I just could not keep them all,
Except one single bud standing
Beautiful and tall.

My friend gave me the flowers
To help brighten up my day,
But the biggest joy I received
Was in giving them away.

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed.
They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.
They lend an ear, they share a word of praise,
and they always want to open their hearts to us.

Author unknown to me