If the world ‘s a vale of tears, Smile, till rainbows span it! — Lucy Larcom

Whatever science and philosophy may do for mankind, the world can never outgrow its need of the simplicity that is in Christ. — Lucy Larcom

If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it. — Lucy Larcom

Rich or poor, every child comes into the world with some imperative need of its own, which shapes its individuality. — Lucy Larcom

The whole world of thought lay unexplored before me,–a world of which I had already caught large and tempting glimpses. — Lucy Larcom

Some of us must wait for the best human gifts until we come to heavenly places. Our natural desire for musical utterance is perhaps a prophecy that in a perfect world we shall all know how to sing. — Lucy Larcom

O Mariner–soul, Thy quest is but begun, There are new worlds Forever to be won. — Lucy Larcom

A man may make a misanthrope of himself, but he is never one by nature. — Lucy Larcom

I am willing to make any part of my life public, if it will help others. — Lucy Larcom

Life hangs as nothing in the scale against dear Liberty! — Lucy Larcom

It is the greatest of all mistakes to begin life with the expectation that it is going to be easy, or with the wish to have it so. — Lucy Larcom

Religion is life inspired by Heavenly Love; and life is something fresh and cheerful and vigorous. — Lucy Larcom

That larger vision is certain to make clear the value in our own lives of service to others. — Lucy Larcom

My ‘must–have’ was poetry. From the first, life meant that to me. And, fortunately, poetry is not purchasable material, but an atmosphere in which every life may expand. I found it everywhere about me. — Lucy Larcom

June falls asleep upon her bier of flowers; In vain are dewdrops sprinkled o’er her, In vain would fond winds fan her back to life, Her hours are numbered on the floral dial. — Lucy Larcom

Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, What the glory of thy boughs shall be? — Lucy Larcom

Whatever with the past has gone, The best is always yet to come. — Lucy Larcom

There is something in the place where we were born that holds us always by the heart–strings. — Lucy Larcom

He who plants a tree, plants a hope. — Lucy Larcom

To her bier Comes the year Not with weeping and distress, as mortals do, But, to guide her way to it, All the trees have torches lit; Blazing red the maples shine the woodlands through. — Lucy Larcom

Like a plant that starts up in showers and sunshine and does not know which has best helped it to grow, it is difficult to say whether the hard things or the pleasant things did me the most good. — Lucy Larcom

Many kinds of fruit grow upon the tree of life, but none so sweet as friendship; as with the orange tree its blossoms and fruit appear at the same time, full of refreshment for sense and for soul. — Lucy Larcom