Dry white season. Andre Brink

it is a dry white season
dark leaves don’t last, their brief lives dry out
and with a broken heart they dive down gently headed
for the earth
not even bleeding.
it is dry white season brother,
only the trees know the pain as they still stand erect
dry like steel, their branches dry like wire,
indeed, it is a dry white season
but seasons come to pass.
Mongane Wally Serote

To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics; to appreciate beauty; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived--that is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson