03/07/2024
                                            A poem by Daniel Mead
"If you would grow to your best self 
Be patient, not demanding 
Accepting, not condemning 
Nurturing, not withholding 
Self-marveling, not belittling 
Gently guiding, not pushing and punishing 
For you are more sensitive than you know 
Mankind is as tough as war yet delicate as flowers 
We can endure agonies but we open fully only to warmth and light 
And our need to grow is as fragile as a fragrance dispersed by storms of will 
To return only when those storms are still 
So, accept, respect, and attend your sensitivity 
A flower cannot be opened with a hammer."
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If you would Grow
By Daniel F. Mead