Trees or People

 

A tree crashes down distantly in a forest,

Not acknowledged or heard by many.

Another human being passes away,

and is honored by so many friends.

Lives touched, affected, enhanced.

Memories made – new associations.

The loss of another person who figured

so large in a community’s goings-on.

Sometimes several trees will topple.

Mudslides, severe weather can uproot many.

Age and diseases can also eliminate many lives,

sometimes all at once, in a rush.

We wonder what is happening,

what is really going on.

Just the cruel vagaries of fate,

or some hidden sinister machinations?

One can never be sure;

just honor the memory of those lost,

and keep on trudging on,

creating new memories to treasure.

Twas The Week Before Christmas

 

Not many creatures were stirring,

except in war-torn places abroad.

Some general got eviscerated in Moscow,

Another school got blown up in Ukraine.

Israeli bombs raining down on Syria,

New settlements on the blueprints there.

The Chinese broke a rocket launching record,

closing in on that spaceX starlink success.

Health insurers are busy erecting concertina wire,

while the trial of a murderer/folk hero proceeds.

New cabinet picks are garnering screams

of dismay on capital hill and in homes all over.

The quiet jingles of Santa’s sleigh unfortunately

drowned out by drone traffic all over the place.

Could that jolly red elf even land on your roof,

without colliding with some buzzing idiot above?

One can hope for a pleasant enough season this year,

Amazon and Fedex taking over delivery of good cheer.

Perhaps shut off the news feeds and editorial screeds,

renew friendships and loves, wish each other a happy new year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and all the best to humanity.

Give each other a helping hand that we may bond in new fraternity.

Retirement is...

 

Watching a leaf fall from a tree, sail all the way down

to join the others gathered below, a quorum.

Listening to a squirrel chatter or chew a nut,

look up at it sitting on a branch, just being a squirrel.

Strolling along a bike trail listening to a stream gurgle.

Looking at different plants, trying to distinguish species.

Remembering what some of them are named,

but by now most are familiar sights on the trail.

No place to be in the next several hours,

or all day for that matter. Time slows some.

Retirement is time to make the bed, and dress slower.

Time to muse on which direction the day will take.

Life is so fleeting in any case,

why do we hurry up and spend it so much faster.

Our “hanging dewdrop” will burst soon enough.

No reason to panic and make things worse.

We’ll find out soon enough if destined to heaven or hell,

or nothing at all beyond that bright light ahead.

May as well enjoy our brief walk on this Earth,

not dwelling on heaven’s delights or hell’s frights.

Memories of a Friend

 

Some corner of heaven reserved for sonnets

is likely stuffed with many familiar poets.

And some not as well known,

nor with nearly as much renown.

But special ones who were also friends

are surely there, having made amends.

One in particular I’ll never forget,

a mentor and friend who protected

those around him from various pitfalls.

Thanks to him we avoided real downfalls!

I can envision Jim Dunlap out there somewhere,

hosting some informative lyrical poetry get-togethers.

Perhaps populated by other local luminaries departing

this world, they host heaven’s latest poetry readings.

Unforgettable down here, popular out there,

our friend and fellow poet is favored everywhere.

We may not miss your cantankerous ways, old bard;

But we will treasure your memory in highest regard!

(Jim was a good friend of mine, and a great guy. He has been published on several continents around the world, and was also an active presence in online forums like Allpoetry, where he encouraged young poets to hone their craft. Goodbye and godspeed, my friend.)

(Wikipedia entry for Jim, for those interested:  Jim is an associate editor of Sonnetto Poesia, and he has been published in over 90 publications, including Potpourri, Candelabrum, Mobius, the Paris/ Atlantic, and online in Poetry Life and Times, Poetry Repair Shop, The Poets' Porch, and many others. He is a resident poet on Poetry Life & Times. He has been in the Writer's Digest top 100 in 3 categories, rhymed verse, unrhymed verse and the literary short story.^[1] He is listed in the Marquis Who's Who In America, the Marquis Who's Who In The World, and in the Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers which is a publication of Poets and Writers Magazine.

God in our Machines

 

So I was reading this novel about the near future, where an FBI agent and her humanoid robot go through a basic training course, including rope climbing, obstacle climbing and so forth. The android could respond rapidly to everything the human trainer said. And as ‘it’ stood and surveyed the course, it was running thousands of completions of said course through it’s processors, determining every precise step and movement it would take to complete the course in record time. Which, of course, it did.

It occurred to me that all of human records, knowledge, experiences are being poured wholesale into massive databases, which are in turn accessed by more powerful algorithms every day. We are handing off the sum total of our knowledge to machines, so they can do things better, faster, more efficiently. This has been talked about a lot already, and the need for some built-in controls is well known. But when I see a scenario laid out like the one I read, it takes my breath away. This is really happening, and going to happen more and more. In many ways there will be more convenience. But there will also be more and more knowledge jobs lost, up to the level of doctors and attorneys. At some point we may well need a national Basic Income payment so people can survive the coming unemployment waves, as our economy adjusts. There will be some new specialized jobs, no doubt, but a lot of dislocation too.

Right now, there is so much data being shoveled at us through our phones, our computers, our TV sets, etc. No to mention all the various household devices attached in some way to the Internet. I feel like I’m drowning in data right now – so of course welcome the help of ‘digital assistants’ - but that is in essence more data to keep track of. Wonder when we’ll reach a point where humans lose all control over the whole massive data structure.

We’ll have to be brave and resilient in this “brave new world” that is coming, coming up on us so fast. Good luck. Deus ex machina indeed.

Two Entered the Ring

 

One old grizzled fighter came on strong,

unleashing flurries of punches, landing some.

The younger, fresher one seemed to be biding his time…

The first two rounds went to the seasoned champion.

In the third round, things began to change.

The young man let loose with his wicked jab,

and began to do damage around an older head…

The champion ducked and weaved and dodged,

mostly effective but not every time – and got hit.

He took it like the champ he was, and persevered.

Dodging and weaving, he fired back some punches.

Got warned by the referee – they both did.

But after the fourth round, things looked bleak.

By the fifth and sixth rounds, the challenger was

scoring hits at three times the rate of the champ.

It became inevitable – and a game of survival.

The old champ stayed on his feet by will alone.

In the last two rounds, the old warrior launched

some desperate flurries, even landing a few.

The young strong bull answered back with plenty!

When it finally came to the end, it was with grace.

You saw the young challenger, now the champ,

behaving with an uncanny class, ceasing seconds early,

giving the old warhorse a bow of respect before the bell.

No bloody knockouts here – this was a sporting ballet.

No thrilla in Manila,

no slash-and-burn,

no ear-biting rages,

no TKO in the first round.

This was a contest of gentlemen,

settled like gentlemen.

Doubt there will be another match like this one.

Congrats, Jake Paul.

Well fought, Mike Tyson.

Don’t spend it all in one place (both of you). ;-)

Technology Relativity

 

Once we could be content with cable TV,

passive amusements fed to us repeatedly.

Only interaction was the channel changer,

it was OK to be sleepy dumb consumers.

Then that Internet age came up fast,

we all had to learn new keyboard tasks.

To think and interact and read many screens;

the old world of paper data receding at last.

Forget going out somewhere to fetch a book,

logging into the right website is all it took

to make our world smarter and better and brighter,

colorful images and columns and charts

accessed rapidly to make us all smarter.

Alas! Many smaller companies became providers,

some unreliable and spotty with coverages.

The more addicted we became to the ‘Net,

the quicker we could find ourselves disconnected!

Now we are all hopelessly hooked,

forty years of force-feeding is all it took.

Without a Net connection one is hopelessly lost,

an EM-saturated world permanently tempest-tossed!

(No AI was used in the writing of this poem.)

Doorways

 

Moving through the hallways of life

one keeps encountering doorways.

Entrances and exits to other realities,

or at least other paradigms in sight.

Life changes and aging bring new

encounters with throughways to novel worldviews.

Leaving the area called “career” and entering

that large unknown void called “retirement.”

Leaving one relationship for another,

hopping between rooms called ‘friends.’

Nice to know one can step back into most

other rooms and reconnect with dear ones.

On a larger scale, regions or countries

can leave a familiar hallway by electing

some new person to a leadership position.

Exiting the familiar, we all step into a void,

hoping not to fall off a cliff into new squalor.

With climate change, our entire Earth transits

a new doorway into climactic upheavals unknown…

Yet in the distant past the Earth was covered by ice.

Perhaps we will know the future by looking back.

Doorways and entrances to new unknown realities

cause one to wince as we take the jump.

Frightening future, here we come!

Last Hurrahs

 

Back in the 1960’s we were all lined up.

Long winding groups of kids waiting for our

mass shots, or exams, or even the cafeteria.

Positioned here and there for various

reasons I can’t even remember why;

Fire drills and fallout shelters and fear.

Now we sit at the opposite end of things.

Lined up in nursing homes,

at doctor’s offices or urgent care clinics,

or massing along pedestrian trails...

Daytime scenes populated with elderly dross,

All us Baby Boomers that have lost our gloss.

Succeeding generations have long since taken over

the running of society, while we Boomers sit and watch,

complain and grumble, or cheer and hurrah sometimes.

It has been a long, strange trip, and only some

of us made it to this other end. To us I say,

three cheers! And let us crack open one more

bottle of 60’s joy and color and good vibrations...

For old time’s sake!

How to Keep US on Top

To maintain a preeminent space program, the USA can focus on several key areas:

1. Investment in Research and Development: Increasing funding for NASA and other space-related agencies to foster innovation in technology, propulsion systems, and materials science.

2. Public-Private Partnerships: Encouraging collaboration with private companies to leverage their expertise and drive down costs. Initiatives like the Commercial Crew Program have shown success in this area.

3. International Collaboration: Building partnerships with other countries for joint missions, shared technology, and resource pooling can enhance capabilities and strengthen global ties.

4. STEM Education and Workforce Development: Promoting education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to ensure a skilled workforce. This can include scholarships, internships, and outreach programs.

5. Sustained Long-Term Goals: Establishing clear, ambitious goals such as returning to the Moon, manned Mars missions, and deep space exploration to inspire investment and public interest.

6. Public Engagement and Support: Increasing outreach efforts to educate the public on the benefits of space exploration, which can drive support for funding and initiatives.

7. Regulatory Framework: Streamlining regulations to facilitate space exploration while ensuring safety and sustainability.

8. Technology Transfer: Encouraging the application of space technology advancements to other sectors to demonstrate the broader benefits of space investment.

By focusing on these areas, the USA can not only maintain but enhance its leadership in space technology and advancement.

(Just ask an AI how to do it)

The Long Season

 

The trees are weeping down leaves,

sagging and seeping sorrowful greens.

Barren hard ground to feet is unyielding,

wispy grasses to color are clinging.

Overseas the bodies are piling up,

more countries getting drawn into

a never ending conflict of egos and steel.

Lip service to treaties, immune to entreaty.

Here at home, a bifurcated population

rages against itself, house divided hard.

As the election nears, political tactics smear;

Hatreds flare and many are scared.

How much riotous bloodshed will occur

if or when a sore loser emerges?

One can only wait and see – indoors,

entrances locked and phone at the ready.

It remains a tossup if we can get a self-sustaining colony

built on some other world, before we destroy our own!

E Pluribus Unum

 (many thanks to Chat GPT for this gem)

Out of Many, One

In a small town, the annual Harvest Festival buzzed with anticipation. This year, a group of fervent Christian nationalists had commandeered the event, draping the town square in flags and fervent speeches. Their leader, a charismatic preacher named Ezekiel, proclaimed a divine mandate to reclaim the country for their vision of faith.

But amid the celebrations, a quiet resistance simmered. Mara, a local librarian, felt the weight of the community's diversity slipping away. She gathered a group of neighbors—Muslims, Jews, atheists, and progressive Christians—over cups of tea and whispered plans.

On the day of the festival, as Ezekiel took the stage, Mara and her friends set up their own booth, adorned with vibrant banners reading "Unity in Diversity" and "Love is Greater Than Fear." They handed out pamphlets that told stories of their shared humanity, weaving in tales of their cultures and beliefs.

At first, Ezekiel's followers scoffed, but as the day wore on, curious townsfolk began to gather around Mara’s booth. She spoke passionately about the strength found in differences, her voice rising above the raucous chants. The crowd, once loyal to Ezekiel's exclusionary vision, began to waver, drawn in by the warmth of shared stories and laughter.

As the sun dipped low, casting a golden hue over the festival, Mara led the crowd in a simple act—a moment of silence for every person who had felt marginalized. One by one, hands clasped together across differences, creating a human chain that glowed with hope.

Ezekiel, watching from the stage, felt the tide turning. His voice faltered as he saw faces—once eager to follow him—now shining with newfound understanding. The chants quieted, and for the first time, he saw a community stitched together by love rather than fear.

That night, as the stars flickered above, the festival ended not in division, but in a resounding affirmation of togetherness. The seeds of unity had taken root, and in their fertile soil, the specter of Christian nationalism began to wither, outshone by the light of compassion.

E Pluribus Unum - Out of Many, One - the United States of America

Reversal of Linguistic Fortunes

 

In whispers spun from tongues diverse,
Where letters dance in clever verse,
A mirror’s game, a playful twist,
Languages spin, and none are missed.

In English, “stressed” flips to “desserts,”
A sweet escape from heavy hurts.
In Spanish, “sal” becomes “las,”
A sprinkle of salt, a change in class.

French offers “rester” turned to “reset,”
A pause in time, a chance to forget.
In German, “leber” reflects as “rebel,”
A liver’s tale, a revolution’s revel.

Across the globe, in every land,
Words reverse with a sleight of hand.
Italian “ano” to “ona” plays,
A cycle of life in playful ways.

So here we weave a tapestry bright,
Where languages shift in day and night.
In each reversal, a story told,
Of cultures and connections new or old.

Walking Along the Trail

 

Yellowed cottonwood leaves crunch underfoot,

a mild breeze cools off the path ahead...

Squirrels dart across, stop, look, then rush off,

rustling underbrush reveals their secret routes.

I can hear some in the trees making various sounds,

munching or scolding or muttering something.

They are in full-on preparation for winter.

Birds begin to flock, squawk and squabble.

They, too, are getting ready for coming changes.

The scene is peaceful and pleasing,

the best time of year around here,

not at all like down south – facing down

yet another giant hurricane of storms.

My sympathies go to them down there.

But I still want to enjoy this fall beauty here in Iowa.

Because our turn for some nasty weather is coming.

Not if, but when – and how severe we get it. Like

bills, always in the mail headed our way, sooner

or later – and we always hope for the latter.

For now we can enjoy it here, but also prepare for

what surely must come ahead one of these days.

Damn weather!

Victorian versus modern sensibility

 

All of these do-it-yourself stores

offering things like self-service saws.

Reminds one of the Victorian era,

with up to their moment modernity,

stressing individual self-sufficiency.

The British gentleman was expected to dress

fashionably from head to toe, shining,

Yet also to be able to rise to any occasion.

Whether fighting off brigands with cane or pistol,

repairing some coach or other modern conveyance...

A man for all seasons, tough for any reason.

Also living in an era without antibiotics or

adequate food safety, and occupational dangers.

You had to be everything at all times for all occasions.

Even if you only lived to a ripe old age of 45.

Think of Rudyard Kipling’s “IF” poem,

applied to males across the British Empire.

So glad we evolved into a more nuanced world,

one that gives individuals room to be themselves.

We are flawed humans, not supernatural beings.

Some self-improvement can be great, but it is also

good for technology-swamped minds to relax.

Revised Poems

 These are from a poetry workshop last May, with revisions included  (Thanks to Dr. Paul Brooke!)

Troublemakers

My new roommates are both here,

Fluffy black cat and tiny dog appear;

They circle about hoping for a snack.

Nothing else now, I make it clear!

Move my foot wrong, the cat attacks!

Move it too fast, the dog jumps back,

then darts forward with nip and bark.

These silly animals give me too much flak.

Sitting in the chair, the cat joins herself to my hip.

Dog reminds me to walk with ‘Yips.’

Darned if I stay put or get up – what a problem!

I finally rise; cat jumps off and performs a backflip.

Change of Plans

No longer required at work,

Can sit and smirk;

No more time clock,

Fish off a dock.

Perhaps I can move away,

try a replay.

New scenery,

more greenery.

High costs are a real fright,

think I will tighten.

My property

embraces me.

Robot Helpers Watch Over Me

 

Once upon a time, in 1957, I was born.

Everything was tracked by paper or cards,

electromechanical devices prevailed.

Leaded gas spewed into the air,

And we made everything here.

Now our future is held in our hands,

suggesting, guiding and telling us what to do.

Intelligence is infused into our phones,

our appliances and tools help us think,

help guide us to the correct decision!

Once upon a time, in 1957,

Atomic energy promised a limitless future.

We would travel to space and live in huge

ringed stations, or vacation on Mars.

Those Jetsons gave us an optimistic spin.

The USA manufactured almost everything,

and people smoked themselves into early graves.

Now we are more health-conscious,

exercise, and eat far better than we did.

GMO or not, we are concerned with what goes

into our foods and our bodies, and formerly

backward countries make all our modern devices.

Once upon a time, in 1957,

if you were black, or homosexual, or different,

you got the blunt end of society’s stick,

the bad end of the deal, and you suffered or died.

Now so many more people are included and celebrated;

Parades are almost an afterthought, exclamation point on equality.

We can proudly drive our electric cars anywhere we like,

with whomever we wish to marry, and settle down with.

Once upon a time, in 1957,

one used paper to track their finances.

We used currency to buy things,

and the idea of someone sneaking into our home

through a wire and cleaning us out was ridiculous.

Now we must guard against hackers or unauthorized users

at every turn, two-stepping through logins like crazed internet dancers.

AI is right there with us too, suggesting, replacing, modifying,

trying to be helpful at every turn.

And in the end, controlling everything.

We get to ride along for as long as

AI deems we are needed. Hmmm.

The Days that Were

 

Grainy footage from long ago,

1960’s guys running nude, hand in hand.

Warbly but sweet music tickles emotive memory,

forbidden love blossoms on the screen once again.

Now we are all at the other end of things,

reminiscing and comparing memories of the

sordid places full of dark corners we used to love.

Reminding ourselves that yes, we too were wanted.

Vibrant, impatient, angsty and horny, unaware of

our youth – how could we have known.

We know now, and miss and reminisce.

But we are still here, we can practice good cheer.

Inform the younger generations of how it was.

Police raids,

an epidemic of AIDS,

a train of movies with sad endings…

Then one day, Marriage Equality!

Now gray as well as gay,

we can still dance in our minds.

We can watch or make documentaries

of the way things used to be,

and feel a swelling of pride that maybe

we helped make the world a better place.

Debate Debacle

 

The big face-off finally took place,

a newcomer took on the mighty dinosaur.

Her style and smoothness seemed to win,

overcoming his sharp attacks and wild facts.

But he has a lot of devoted followers,

almost like dedicated cult members.

This will be a close presidential race,

and the outcome is still far from certain.

Our country seems completely divided,

two camps derisive and contemptuous

about the other side, with some pure hatred

thrown into the mashing pot for bad measure.

Can we survive another brutal contest,

with a bloodbath promised by a loser?

The dictators-for-life in the eastern hemisphere

are watching gleefully, planning their victory.

Hang on, the ride is going to get wild.

Hope we can survive this as a democratic republic!

What Kind of Gun

 (This is in response to a poem entitled "America is a Gun" )

America is a gun,

but also clear running streams,

sunlit rural pastoral scenes,

happy hikers enjoying within.

America is a gun,

but also a smiling mother,

laughing children playing,

sumptuous feasts laid out long,

citizens well-fed and cheerful.

America is a gun,

but also a thriving music scene,

creative bands making new expressions

of angst and joy and lust and thrill.

America is a gun,

but also bulging with artworks,

enormous paintings and sculptures,

parks filled with gleaming or glittering pieces,

evening light displays across city-scapes,

lit-up trails and bridges and waterways.

America is a gun,

but also a bastion of manufacturing prowess,

a technical powerhouse bringing forth many

inventions and engineering innovations.

Whole industries arose from her shores.

America is a gun,

but the world is stuck with her,

for better or worse.

More often it is for the better,

through medical or technical discoveries

shared and disseminated, food and economic help,

various other charitable contributions to the world.

America is a gun,

but fear not when she is pointed at you.

She may fire off innovations or assistance,

creativity or beneficence instead of bullets.

Work with
America – she really does mean well.

Need it to Start the Day

 

How many of us have traveled near or far,

Lulled to a relaxed state of mind after fun;

slept a good nights sleep no less -

then faced with the morning fog,

struggled with a hotel coffeemaker?

They vary more than one would think.

Some are simple enough looking -

a small pot, with reservoir for a coffee pad,

taken out of its own cellophane wrap.

Still sneaky – it only makes one strong cup.

The coffeepot has a 4-cup capacity.

Trick is to use one cup to fill reservoir,

then turn it on, and you get one good cup!

Some have Keurig’s, with mysterious buttons on top.

Does this turn it on, or start brewing?

Remember, you have to do both.

Other iterations of Keurigs seem simpler.

Fill reservoir, put K-cup in the top,

power on, and pull down the handle.

It starts grunting and grinding in a few seconds…

If you remembered to use just one cup of water, and

place same cup underneath it, you get one good cup.

It almost seems like every hotel has a different model.

My secret is to make sure it is plugged in,

and you know how to operate it,

The Night Before – when you first arrive.

Then you will more likely get a good first cup

of coffee, and not a big mess all over the counter.

Hotel 101 – make sure of your reservations, room, cost, etc.

Hotel 101 and ½ – study the darned coffee-makers before you turn in.

Might save you a headache and a mess. Cheers!

Five-Letter War Killer

 

A five-letter word can overcome the mightiest armaments in the world.

It can save uncounted billions of dollars.

It can save hundreds, thousands and millions of lives.

It can bring out the very best in human nature.

It can help achieve miracles in medicine and explorations,

all based on active human co-operation.

The five-letter ‘magic’ word is P E A C E.

Peace can bring nations together,

Peace can cause a laying down of arms,

Peace can save trillions of dollars.

Peace can accomplish miracles using cooperation.

Peace can bring out the very best human qualities.

Peace can colonize outer space to the edge of the Solar System.

Peace is one very powerful five-letter word.

People should utter that word many times every day,

and use its magic and power.

Peace – the daily mantra that can transform our lives.

Peace can inject hope into the darkest corners of human misery.

What can peace do for you today?

Continental drift and climate change are small and weak,

compared to the mighty power of Peace and Human Cooperation.

Ok, I’ve said my piece. Peace and out.

New Blue Origins

 

What was happening in those blue warehouses?

Just a few fakey photo-ops?

Some bent metal here and there, fancy press releases.

A short-haul rocket that goes up to the Karman line,

then right back down, every few months?

Big deal.

No, not so fast. All of a sudden,

a Youtuber gets taken on a tour inside.

Inside several huge buildings,

gleaming white surfaces and 50-foot high ceilings.

Full of CNC machines slowly grinding away

at cargo fairings and the future of rocketry.

LOX tanks, Liquid Hydrogen tanks.

Six-limbed landing struts.

All moving slowly towards a launch date,

after some final integration and testing.

First stage and upper stage engines,

assembled, wrapped in foil,

ready to roar off some pad.

Jeff really has been busy!

If they don’t take off,

he has wasted billions on a show.

But this show is real,

I can feel it now.

SpaceX and Elon are getting some new competition.

This will be an exciting race ahead,

between Billionaires as well as nations.

Who will get humans back to the Moon?

Who indeed – things are more muddled up than ever.

Should be fun to watch it all play out live-streamed

in the next several years. Jeff or Elon?

Put your money down.

Fair Time in 2024

 

Heavily-loaded trailers fill side streets,

making hairpin turns to avoid each other.

Huge tents rise up in huge white sheets,

edges pegged down in fairground tundra.

Vehicles of all shapes and sizes arrive,

park on any available patch of ground;

they swerve and turn, try not to collide,

while animal and engine noises abound.

Smells and vibrations permeate nearby homes,

while residents fill parking spaces in their yards.

The impact is large in various business zones,

as well as in noses and stomachs and nerves.

From quietude and an areawide somnolescence.

erupts another State Fair’s explosive excitements.

May all have a great festive time this year,

as cooler temperatures add to the good cheer!

Quotes around the world

 

In poetry its hard to write a stanza

that makes sense and pleases an audience.

Once written you can read them in a plaza

or in an intimate parlor with a dalliance.

Quotable quotes in different languages.

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep on moving.

 “No llores porque se terminó, sonríe porque sucedió.” – Gabriel García Márquez

“Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei.” - humorous German Quote.

Wees de verandering die je in de wereld wil zien gebeuren. - Dutch wisdom quote.

Meten es Weten. - Another Dutch quote.

Fais toujours de ton mieux même si personne ne regarde. - French inspirational.

Lepiej zapobiegać niż leczyć - Polish Tidbit.

“Å gå som katta rundt den varme grøten” - Norweigan observation.

“Qui totum vult totum perdit” - Latin quote.

Дву́м смертя́м не быва́ть, одно́й не минова́ть - Russian Nugget.

Είπε ο γάιδαρος τον πετεινό κεφάλα - Greek Proverb.

Ayağını yorganına göre uzat. - Turkish Wisdom.

不做亏心事，不怕鬼敲门 (bù zuò kuī xīn shì, bù pà guǐ qiāo mén) - Chinese wisdom.

七転び八起き (Fall down seven times, stand up eight) - Japanese Proverb.

어디든 가치가 있는 곳으로 가려면 지름길은 없다. There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going. Korean Quote.

Masa lalu saya adalah milik saya. Masa lalu kamu adalah milik kamu. Tapi, masa depan adalah milik kita. / “My past belongs to me. Your past belongs to you. But the future belongs to us.” - Indonesian quote.

And that is our brief trip around the world in quotes. Hope you enjoyed it, or at least it did not annoy you too much. Happy Friday.