Sawdust and Diamonds

Sing, I will swallow your sadness, and eat your cold clay
Just to lift your long face
And though it may be madness, I will take to the grave
Your precious longface
And though our bones they may break, and our souls separate
Why the long face?
And though our bodies recoil from the grip of the soil
Why the long face?

Though my wrists and my waist seemed so easy to break
Still, my dear, I'd have walked you to the very edge of the water
And they will recognize all the lines of your face
In the face of the daughter of the daughter of my daughter

Darling, we will be fine; but what was yours and mine
Appears to me a sandcastle that the gibbering wave takes
But if it's all just the same, then will you say my name;
Say my name in the morning, so I know when the wave breaks

From the top of the flight
of the wide, white stairs
Through the rest of my life
Do you wait for me there?

Joanna Newsom

Success

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson