You never can tell when you do an act
Just what the result will be;
But with every deed you are sowing a seed,
Though the harvest you may not see.
Each kindly act is an acorn dropped
In God’s productive soil;
You may not know, yet the tree shall grow
And shelter the brows that toil.

You never can tell what your thoughts will do
In bringing you hate or love;
For thoughts are things, and their airy wings
Are swifter than carrier doves.
They follow the law of the universe—
Each thing must create its kind;
And they speed o’er the track to bring you back
Whatever went out from your mind.

— Ella Wheeler Wilcox

“If you want to leave your footprints
On the sands of time
Do not drag your feet.”

— Abdul Kalam.

Abdul Kalam turns 77 today! Long live Abdul Kalam.

Read quotes from Abdul Kalam’s autobiography.

Find more poems by Abdul Kalam at his website.