The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

“Still Here,” by Langston Hughes

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I been scarred and battered.
My hopes the wind done scattered.
       Snow has friz me,
       Sun has baked me,
Looks like between ‘em they done
       Tried to make me
Stop laughin’, stop lovin’, stop livin’—
       But I don’t care!
       I’m still here!

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