If we but knew what forces helped to mold

The lives of others from their earliest years,

Knew something of their background, joys, and tears,

And whether their youth was drear and cold,

Or if some dark belief had taken hold

And kept them shackled, torn with doubts and fears

So long it crushed the force that perseveres

And made their  hearts grow prematurely old,

Then we might judge with wiser, kindlier sight,

And learn to put aside our pride and scorn….

Perhaps no one can ever quite undo

His faults or wholly banish some past blight–

The tolerant mind is purified, reborn,

And lifted upward to a saner view.

MARGARET E.  BRUNER

Found on Pinterest on 11-7-15. Tom Mumford. Photos of the day. Watkins Glen State Park.

Yu/stan/kema