"A wise old owl lived in an oak;

The more he saw the less he spoke;

The less he spoke the more he heard:

Why can't we all be like that bird?"

~ Unknown

Those we Love the Best  ~ by Ella Wheeler Wilcox*

One great truth in life I've found,
     While journeying to the West ~
The only folks we really wound
     Are those we love the best.

The man you thoroughly despise
     Can rouse your wrath, 'tis true;
Annoyance in your heart will rise
     At things mere strangers do.

But those are only passing ills;
     This rule all lives will prove;
The rankling wound which aches and thrills
Is dealt by hands we love.

The choicest garb, the sweetest grace,
     Are oft to strangers shown;
The careless mien, the frowning face,
    Are given to our own.

We flatter those we scarcely know,
     We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
     To those we love the best ....

*American author, poet (1850 - 1919) Her best known work perhaps The Way of the World, lines of which are, "Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone."