The Daffodils by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch
I lie In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude:
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

RAW RECRUIT
by Robert William Service, 1874-1958

They said to me: "Thou shalt not kill, "
And well I understood.
"Thy brother's blood thou shalt not spill,"
They spake, and it was good.
And then I could not understand,
Yet had to do their will;
Cold steel they put into my hand,
Saying: "Go forth and kill. "

Go forth with rage of race and slay;
Pile up the corpses for
What's murder called in Peace - always
Is hollowed in war.
The Church has blest your bloody blade,
The which in peace is cursed;
So go forth, son, all unafraid,
And do your bloody worst.

"What's wrong in Peace in War is right,
So I will do their will,
And bear me bravely in the fight,
And kill and kill and kill.....
Yet as I brave the battle test
With dripping sword in hand,
Proving me equal with the best....
Christ, help me understand!

The Road Not Taken

Any list of poems that have made a difference to readers should include Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken". It has made a difference in my life from time to time.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (1874–1963)

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.