The trees in summer speak fluent prose
Their central theme of greenness flows
In leisurely reiterations
With rich details and illustrations.
In winter they turn to poetry
And with exact economy
Are clearly unelaborate,
Suggesting far more than they state.
–From Petals of Light (written in 1947)
The world is full of good advice
To spur us on to victory
In sayings pithy and concise
And flatly contradictory.
–Saturday Evening Post, September 1946
–republished in Halfway Up the Sky
Never tell a soul in sorrow
There are others hurt as he
Never tell him sure tomorrow
Shall supply his remedy.
Say his grief’s unprecedented,
Pat time’s healing to allay.
Let him agonize, contented,
While time steals the sting away.
–Saturday Evening Post, September 1946