<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width: auto;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; line-height: normal; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><td valign="top" class="td1"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="t1" style="width: 540px;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td valign="middle" class="td2"><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">Patience Taught by Nature</font></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; line-height: normal; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><td valign="middle" class="td1"><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><font size="4" class=""><span class="s2"></span><br class=""></font></div></td></tr><tr style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; line-height: normal; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><td valign="top" class="td1"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width: auto;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td valign="middle" class="td3"><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">‘O dreary life,’ we cry, ‘O dreary life!’ </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">And still the generations of the birds </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">Sing through our sighing, and the flocks and herds </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">Serenely live while we are keeping strife </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">With Heaven’s true purpose in us, as a knife </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">Against which we may struggle! Ocean girds </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">Unslackened the dry land, savannah-swards </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">Unweary sweep, hills watch unworn, and rife </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">Meek leaves drop yearly from the forest-trees </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">To show, above, the unwasted stars that pass </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">In their old glory: O thou God of old, </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">Grant me some smaller grace than comes to these! </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">But so much patience as a blade of grass </font></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span class="s1"><font size="4" class="">Grows by, contented through the heat and cold.</font></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; line-height: normal; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><td valign="middle" class="td1"><font size="4" class=""><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></font></td></tr></tbody></table><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Elizabeth Barrett Browning</div></body></html>