Nothing Gold Can Stay

by Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

This poem would be recited at a funeral because it is showing the audience that no matter what you do or how good you are, you will never be able to live forever and the whole poem would be recited. This poem is really taking a lot of the emotion away from all of those people who were sad because this person had died because it is showing that everyone dies and it is just a matter of time. This poem is the parent of the person who died, reading it to the audience.

“Love” by Roy Croft
I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.
I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can’t help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple;
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.
You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means,
After all.

This poem would be recited at a wedding because it is either the bride or the groom saying the poem to each other. The whole poem would be recited. They are telling each other how much they love each other and what they like about each other and how important they are to each other. This poem really shows the audience how connected these two are and how special they are to find each other. This poem really impacts either the bride or groom depending on who is reading it to who.

You May Count That Day
By George Eliot

If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
That eased the heart of him who heard –
One glance most kind,
That fell like sunshine where it went –
Then you may count that day well spent.

But if, through all the livelong day,
You’ve cheered no heart, by yea or nay –
If, through it all
You’ve nothing done that you can trace
That brought the sunshine to one face –
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost –
Then count that day as worse than lost.

This poem would be recited at a graduation coming from the graduating student. He would be saying the whole poem. He is trying to tell everyone that is listening that you have to take everything seriously and you can’t take any days where you just fool around all day because that could’ve been a very important day or even a life changing day. The person who is reading the poem is saying that every small silly mistake you make is important and you can’t make them because it will come back and haunt you one day. This poem is really motivating the audience to take everything they do seriously and to not fool around because it is all very important.