Once Upon a Time 

by Gabriel Okara She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron

And I have learned too She walks in beauty, like the night

to laugh with only my teeth Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

and shake hands without my heart. And all that’s best of dark and bright

I have also learned to say,’Goodbye’, Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

when I mean ‘Good-riddance’: Thus mellowed to that tender light

to say ‘Glad to meet you’, Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been

nice talking to you’, after being bored.

 Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot Some say the world will end in fire,

April is the cruellest month, breeding Some say in ice.

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing From what I’ve tasted of desire

Memory and desire, stirring I hold with those who favor fire.

Dull roots with spring rain. But if it had to perish twice,

Winter kept us warm, covering I think I know enough of hate

Earth in forgetful snow, feeding To say that for destruction ice

A little life with dried tubers. Is also great

And would suffice.

 Still, I Rise by Maya Angelou The People Upstairs by Ogden Nash
The people upstairs all practice ballet
Does my haughtiness offend you? Their living room is a bowling alley

Don't you take it awful hard Their bedroom is full of conducted tours.

’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Their radio is louder than yours,

They celebrate weekends all the week.

Diggin’ in my own backyard.
When they take a shower, your ceilings leak.
You may shoot me with your words,
They try to get their parties to mix
You may cut me with your eyes,
By supplying their guests with Pogo sticks,
You may kill me with your hatefulness, And when their fun at last abates,

But still, like air, I’ll rise. They go to the bathroom on roller skates.
I might love the people upstairs more
If only they lived on another floor