Quotes and Poetry


Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our LIGHT, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing elightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we LET OUR OWN LIGHT SHINE, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
1994 Inaugural Speech, Nelson Mandela


The Rose
Some say love it is a river
that drowns the tender reed
Some say love it is a razor
that leaves the soul to bleed
Some say love it is a hunger
an endless aching need
I say love it is a flower
and you its only seed
When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong
Just remember, in the winter
far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love
in the Spring becomes a ROSE


Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down to their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the falsh of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They still can't see.
I say
It's the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why ny head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say
It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Thanks to Christina D. for submitting this poem!


"To most people my sister and I didn't seem to have much in common; but I knew that we were remarkably alike!"

The Delta Rho Poem

Sometimes in your life you find a real friend, and you know she'll be there 'til the end.
And with this friend that you just found, you always hang around.
She's heard your life story, or so it seems.
You've formed a friendship that's so bizarre, and she accepts you for who you are.
Then one day, you realize something new, another group of people start accepting you.
This girl you've become friends with is one of many a group of people who's friendship is steady.
One by one you get to know them all, you keep their secrets big or small and like any friends, you'll know some of them better, because they're all different, even in the same letters.
You take your time and make friends with them all, and you realize a love is beginning to start.
You are a family and have the same traits, you have some problems and it's not always great, but you still accept them, you don't hate.
They're all different, because it would be no fun if each person was exactly like the other one.
And through time, you begin to realize, that you see the same through each other's eyes.
You go through hard times that seem real bad, but your new friends pick you up, they won't let you be sad.
And through it all, you've come to see, that one new friend planted a seed.
A seed that will always flourish and grow, and in the end becomes a beautiful rose.
A rose of friendship and even family with each petal like a stem of your family tree.
For through it all, you're not just friends but sisters in a bond that will never end.
Thank you to Delta Rho chapter for writing this amazing poem!!
I Love You Little
I love you little
I love you lots
My love for you would fill ten pots,
fifteen buckets,
sixteen cans,
three teacups,
and four dishpans.
----An old rhyme

The Rose Family by:Robert Frost
The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose,
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose--
But you were always a rose.

Thanks to Andrea for submitting these poems!!

A Rose
A rose, she is
and one in full bloom.
She gives me the stars,
and the sun, and the moon.
And her smile is not just a beautiful sight,
though it is,
but its power, and love,
from below and above
She is daytime and night
she is wrong, she is right
she is peace, she is fight
she is blind, she is sight.
And when I am with her,
I’m rock and I’m sand,
I am wind,
I am fire,
I am sea and I’m land.
And when were together,
we are fragile but strong,
the wild life whispers
we are dance, we are song.
And the birds in the trees,
freeze and detect,
that we're young, and in love,
we are reverence, respect.
And when we're apart,
we are both so alone
and we look to the sky
and the sun cries.
By L. Dylan Christopher


Do It Anyway
Written By Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone can destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.


I Corinthians 13 for Volunteers

If I am able to speak with the eloquence of one trained in public speaking, while correctly using parliamentary skills, but am without love, I become a little more than a showman on a stage and there is little value in what I say or do.

I may have the gift of organization and future planning techniques; I may have all the confidence in my abilities so that I can develop elaborate plans for committees and projects, but if I do not have love, I am an empty person.

Even if I give every waking hour and all my money in an attempt to meet the needs of my fraternity, but do not do it in love, it profits me nothing.

Love is patient with people who are trying their wings in new positions; love is kind and is not envious when others do well and receive recognition; love is not conceited but is humble about its own gifts, knowing they are truly gifts not possessions; love acts in an unselfish, caring manner; does not control others with anger; does not always have to “win” and can forgive and forget any unkindness suffered; love is not glad to hear unpleasantness and criticism but seeks to know the good in others.

Because love’s first instinct is to believe in other people with their potential for growth, rather than regarding them as hopeless, love offers encouragement along with constructive criticism.

Now… it is LOVE that is truly lasting; and while eloquent speech, parliamentary procedure, time and financial management, organized ability, future planning and facilitation are invaluable skills for the well trained volunteer, the enduring quality one must cultivate to give the proper direction and perspective not only to volunteerism but to all of life, is LOVE.


Slowly pulling petals,
From a sweet and fragrant rose;
Watching them fall from my fingertips,
Like winter's falling snow.
Knowing that each petal,
Protect's the rose's heart,
Still I pull them one by one,
Gently taking it apart.
Then when the petals are all gone,
The last one on the ground;
I see at last the tender heart,
Of the fragrant rose I found.
Just as slowly you are pulling every petal from my heart;
With every look and every touch,
Gently taking me apart.
You know with every petal,
You see right to my soul;
But yet you pull them one by one,
No longer am I whole.
Now that the petals are all gone,
With my defenses down;
You see at last the tender heart,
Of the fragrant rose you found.
This poem was donated by: Allison Chambers Coxsey


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