The Ebb of Love
A love that wanes is as an ebbing tide,
Which slowly, inch by inch, and scarce perceived,
With many a wave that makes brave show to rise,
Fails from the shore. No sudden treason turns
The long-accustomed loyalty to hate,
But years bring weariness for sweet content,
And fondness, daily sustenance of love,
Which use should make a tribute easier paid,
First grudged, and then withholden, starves the heart;
And though compassion, or remorseful thoughts
Of happy days departed, bring again
The ancient tenderness in seeming flood,
Not less it ebbs and ebbs till all is bare.
O happy shore, the flowing tide shall brim
Thy empty pools, and spread dull tangled weeds
In streamers many-colored as the lights
Which flash in northern heavens, and revive
The fainting blossoms of the rocks; but thou,
O heart, whence love hath ebbed, art ever bare!
poem by Alfred John Church from Littell's Living Age, Volume 173, Issue 2244 (1887)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
For music
ALONG the shore, along the shore
I see the wavelets meeting:
But thee I see--ah, never more,
For all my wild heart's beating.
The little wavelets come and go,
The tide of life ebbs to and fro,
Advancing and retreating:
But from the shore, the steadfast shore,
The sea is parted never:
And mine I hold thee evermore,
Forever and forever.
Along the shore, along the shore
I hear the waves resounding,
But thou wilt cross them nevermore
For all my wild heart's bounding:
The moon comes out above the tide
And quiets all the billows wide
Her pathway bright surrounding:
Thus on the shore, the dreary shore,
I walk with weak endeavor:
I have thy love's light evermore,
Forever and forever.
poem by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Tides
O patient shore, thou canst not go to meet
Thy love, the restless sea, how comfortest
Thou all thy loneliness? Art thou at rest,
When, loosing his strong arms from round thy feet,
He turns away? Know'st thou, however sweet
That other shore may be, that to thy breast
He must return? And when in sterner test
He folds thee to a heart which does not beat,
Wraps thee in ice, and gives no smile, no kiss,
To break long wintry days, still dost thou miss
Naught from thy trust? Still wait, unfaltering,
The higher, warmer waves which leap in spring?
O sweet, wise shore, to be so satisfied!
O heart, learn from the shore! Love has a tide!
poem by Helen Hunt Jackson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Inch By Inch
You can take a powder
You can take a drink
You can keep the shrink
And the kitchen sink
Write my name in heaven
In invisible ink
I just woke up from dreaming, I think
You can take me over
You can give me a lip
You can take me under
You can give me the slip
Take off everything or tear me off a strip
Like a lady in the chamber
And another in the clip
Chorus
Dont move a muscle baby
Dont even flinch
You can miss me by a mile
Or just inch by inch
Inch by inch
Inch by inch
Inch by inch
You can pull me up again
Inch by inch
Inch by inch
As pulses race
I long to see that look upon your face
You can take me outside
You can take me apart
You can take me upstairs
You can take me to heart
You made me love you when
You thought you were so smart
Dont try to stop me when
You told me to start
Chorus
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Glad I Found Your Love
I sit here and talk to the ocean with a cool northern breeze
my thoughts are for the one i love, the one i'll never leave
The golden sand beneath me the waves around my feet
I think of the problem before us, a problem i know we can beat
The tide begins to rise elevating with my love
please dont fly away from me my snow white turtle dove
The tide has now departed my soul is swept away
please remember darling i love you more and more each day
I say goodbye to the ocean as the nightime creeps around
just like your hand around my heart your love i'm glad i've found
poem by Amie Farrier
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Love Sonnet 178 I trodded memories in foggy lanes,
I trodded memories in foggy lanes,
Marked by shredded dreams strewn along the way,
A glimmer sheds its light on love that wanes,
To bring recall, without which hearts can stray;
For thus, shadows are cleared from misty past,
Where gossamer of doubt has spun so thick,
Now covering the truth, it riles aghast,
That lamp so pure had burned with liars' wick;
Oblivion balms the cruel stripes of Fate,
To numb the pain that from the blows proceeds,
Or may requite the coast that waves vacate,
So bare, when ebbing tide of love recedes;
.....Memories a lifetime make, till undone,
.....By strings of broken hearts till fog is gone.
poem by Reyvrex Questor Reyes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Do Not Believe
Do not believe, my dearest, when I say
That I no longer love you.
When the tide ebbs do not believe the sea -
It will return anew.
Already I long for you, and passion fills me,
I yield my freedom thus to you once more.
Already the waves return with shouts and glee
To fill again that same belovèd shore.
poem by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sitting On The Shore
THE tide has ebbed away:
No more wild dashings 'gainst the adamant rocks,
Nor swayings amidst sea-weed false that mocks
The hues of gardens gay:
No laugh of little wavelets at their play:
No lucid pools reflecting heaven's clear brow--
Both storm and calm alike are ended now.
The rocks sit gray and lone:
The shifting sand is spread so smooth and dry,
That not a tide might ever have swept by
Stirring it with rude moan:
Only some weedy fragments idly thrown
To rot beneath the sky, tell what has been:
But Desolation's self has grown serene.
Afar the mountains rise,
And the broad estuary widens out,
All sunshine; wheeling round and round about
Seaward, a white bird flies.
A bird? Nay, seems it rather in these eyes
A spirit, o'er Eternity's dim sea
Calling--'Come thou where all we glad souls be.
O life, O silent shore,
Where we sit patient; O great sea beyond
To which we turn with solemn hope and fond,
But sorrowful no more:
A little while, and then we too shall soar
Like white-winged sea-birds into the Infinite Deep:
Till then, Thou, Father--wilt our spirits keep.
poem by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A smile...
A smile has beauty, a smile has charm,
You can give it freely, it will do no harm.
A smile is a frown you turn upside down,
I makes the heart happy, it spreads love around.
A smile is warm and bright like radiant sun light,
Wear it all day long until you lay down at night.
A smile is your gift to others it cannot be sold,
It can bring untold pleasure in the heart to behold.
A smile is worth nothing until you've given it away,
When you receive it your own smile lights up the day.
A smile has value worth more than heaven above,
It can fill the heart with feelings of peace and of love.
A smile is for all of us, it's actions are always true,
It creates a happy feeling, for me and for you.
A smile is the gift we can give our fellow man,
Spread the peace and love, enhance the happy plan...
Spread the love... The peace will follow...
poem by Cosmic Dreamer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Little More Love
(John Farrar)
Night is draggin' her feet
I wait alone in the heat
I know , know that you'll have your way
Till you have to go home
"No's" a word I can't say
'Cos it gets me nowhere to tell you "no"
It gets me nowhere to make you go
Will a little more love make you start depending
Will a little more love bring a happy ending
Will a little more love make it right
Will a little more love make it right
Where, where did my innocence go
How, how was a young girl to know
I'm trapped, trapped in the spell of your eyes
In the warmth of your arms
In the web of your lies
But it gets me nowhere to tell you "no"
It gets me nowhere to make you go
Will a little more love make you start depending
Will a little more love bring a happy ending
Will a little more love make it right
Will a little more love make it right
It gets me nowhere to tell you "no"
It gets me nowhere to make you go
Will a little more love make you start depending
Will a little more love bring a happy ending
Will a little more love make it right
Will a little more love make it right
Gets me nowhere to tell you "no"
It gets me nowhere to make you go
Will a little more love make you start depending
Will a little more love bring a happy ending
Will a little more love make it right
Will a little more love make it right
song performed by by Olivia Newton-John
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Licia Sonnets 38
Sweet, I protest, and seal it with an oath:
I never saw that so my thoughts did please;
And yet content displeased I see them wroth
To love so much and cannot have their ease.
I told my thoughts, my sovereign made a pause,
Disposed to grant, but willing to delay;
They then repined, for that they knew no cause,
And swore they wished she flatly would say nay.
Thus hath my love my thoughts with treason filled,
And 'gainst my sovereign taught them to repine.
So thus my treason all my thoughts hath killed,
And made fair Licia say she is not mine.
But thoughts too rash my heart doth now repent;
And as you please, they swear, they are content.
poem by Giles Fletcher The Elder
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Give Me An Inch
(robert palmer)
Give me an inch, girl
Give me an inch, girl
Give me an inch, girl
Give me an inch, girl
My eyes show me more than Ive seen
But unlike my poor heart theyre not cautious
I got to thinking love was a dream
Misunderstanding my fortunes
I should have taken more heed of my heart
Telling me how to live
But if you give me an inch, girl
Ill give you a mile
Oh, Ill make it all worth while
And Ill make you see
Just how much you mean to me
Well aint it easy to go head-over-heels
When you need the right person
You got to learn to smile about it
Nothing you do will feel certain
Here I stand with my heart in command
And its you I want to be with
Give me an inch, girl
Im in need of you
Dont leave me in the cold
When I want to trust in you
Dont turn me away
Life can be a worry
When its all work and no play
Give me an inch, girl
Ill give you a mile
Oh, Ill make it all worth while
And Ill make you see
Just how much
Just how much you mean to me
Give me an inch,
Ill give you a mile
And Ill make you see
Just how much, just how much you mean to me
Give me an inch, girl
Oh , Im in need of you
Dont leave me in the cold
When I want to trust in you
song performed by by Robert Palmer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Verses To A Child
O raise those eyes to me again
And smile again so joyously,
And fear not, love; it was not pain
Nor grief that drew these tears from me;
Beloved child, thou canst not tell
The thoughts that in my bosom dwell
Whene'er I look on thee!
Thou knowest not that a glance of thine
Can bring back long departed years
And that thy blue eyes' magic shine
Can overflow my own with tears,
And that each feature soft and fair
And every curl of golden hair,
Some sweet remembrance bears.
Just then thou didst recall to me
A distant long forgotten scene,
One smile, and one sweet word from thee
Dispelled the years that rolled between;
I was a little child again,
And every after joy and pain
Seemed never to have been.
Tall forest trees waved over me,
To hide me from the heat of day,
And by my side a child like thee
Among the summer flowerets lay.
He was thy sire, thou merry child.
Like thee he spoke, like thee he smiled,
Like thee he used to play.
O those were calm and happy days,
We loved each other fondly then;
But human love too soon decays,
And ours can never bloom again.
I never thought to see the day
When Florian's friendship would decay
Like those of colder men.
Now, Flora, thou hast but begun
To sail on life's deceitful sea,
O do not err as I have done,
For I have trusted foolishly;
The faith of every friend I loved
I never doubted till I proved
Their heart's inconstancy.
'Tis mournful to look back upon
Those long departed joys and cares,
But I will weep since thou alone
Art witness to my streaming tears.
This lingering love will not depart,
I cannot banish from my heart
The friend of childish years.
But though thy father loves me not,
Yet I shall still be loved by thee,
And though I am by him forgot,
Say wilt thou not remember me!
I will not cause thy heart to ache;
For thy regretted father's sake
I'll love and cherish thee.
poem by Anne Brontë
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy!
Hope Dieth: Hope Liveth
Strong are thine arms, O love, & strong
Thine heart to live, and love, and long;
But thou art wed to grief and wrong:
Live, then, and long, though hope be dead!
Live on, & labour thro’ the years!
Make pictures through the mist of tears,
Of unforgotten happy fears,
That crossed the time ere hope was dead.
Draw near the place where once we stood
Amid delight’s swift-rushing flood,
And we and all the world seemed good
Nor needed hope now cold and dead.
Dream in the dawn I come to thee
Weeping for things that may not be!
Dream that thou layest lips on me!
Wake, wake to clasp hope’s body dead!
Count o’er and o’er, and one by one
The minutes of the happy sun
That while agone on kissed lips shone,
Count on, rest not, for hope is dead.
Weep, though no hair’s breadth thou shalt move
The living Earth, the heaven above
By all the bitterness of love!
Weep and cease not, now hope is dead!
Sighs rest thee not, tears bring no ease,
Life hath no joy, and Death no peace:
The years change not, though they decrease,
For hope is dead, for hope is dead.
Speak, love, I listen: far away
I bless the tremulous lips, that say,
“Mock not the afternoon of day,
Mock not the tide when hope is dead!”
I bless thee, O my love, who say’st:
“Mock not the thistle-cumbered waste;
I hold Love’s hand, and make no haste
Down the long way, now hope is dead.
With other names do we name pain,
The long years wear our hearts in vain.
Mock not our loss grown into gain,
Mock not our lost hope lying dead.
Our eyes gaze for no morning-star,
No glimmer of the dawn afar;
Full silent wayfarers we are
Since ere the noon-tide hope lay dead.
Behold with lack of happiness
The master, Love, our hearts did bless
Lest we should think of him the less:
Love dieth not, though hope is dead!”
poem by William Morris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sea-Shore
Every wave from the sea,
Running towards the shore,
As if to stay with it forever.
Returns all rejected,
Only more salty and miserable,
Happy to be so, though.
The sea tries yet again,
In the form of another wave,
A never ending hope of attraction,
And a continuous failure.
The shore not at fault either,
Luring the sea towards itself,
Without knowing the depth,
Or the sparkle of the water.
Couldn’t move an inch,
To walk with the sea forever,
A decision not made by choice.
Does not hold the sea to itself,
Neither does it let go,
Probably that’s what He wanted.
The sea running towards the shore,
Knowing it would be the end,
And sighs in the form of a breeze,
At the thought of the final touch,
Every dropp awaiting the end.
Trying and denying carries on,
Till the sea dries out,
The shore stays where it was,
Beside the grave of its only lover,
As lonely as it could be.
poem by Dhruv Dikshit
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Sea-Maiden
Like summer waves on sands of snow,
Soft ringlets clasp her neck and brow,
And wandering breezes kiss away
A threaded light of glimmering spray,
That drifts and floats and softly flies
In a golden mist about her eyes.
Her laugh is fresh as foam that springs
Through tumbling shells and shining things,
And where the gleaming margin dries
Is heard the music of her sighs.
Her gentle bosom ebbs and swells
With the tide of life that deeply wells
From a throbbing heart that loves to break
In the tempest of love for love's sweet sake.
O, the fragrance of earth, and the song of the sea,
And the light of the heavens, are only three
Of the thousand glories that Love can trace,
In her life, and her soul, and her beautiful face.
This tangled weed of poesy,
Torn from the heart of a stormy sea,
I fling upon the love divine
Of her, who fills this heart of mine.
poem by Dowell O'Reilly
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Mothers Day2007
She hath my heart, she is my mum.
She hath my heart, she is my only, she is my one.
She hath my heart, though rough winds may blow.
She hath my heart, still her love will flow, her love will always show.
She hath my heart, I thank my lucky stars.
She hath my heart and i have hers.
She hath my heart, i long for her presence.
She hath my heart, her name is essence.
She hath my heart and forever she will.
Lifetimes will come and go, i will love her still
She hath my heart, this fact i cant conceal
Our bond is like sentiment you just cant kill
She hath my heart in times of sorrow.
She hath my heart, yesterday, today and tomorrow.
She hath my heart, my voice will sing.
She hath my heart, she makes the bell in my heart ring.
She hath my heart, in times of trouble.
She wont stumble no i will not let her crumble.
She hath my heart in each and every way
And my love for her grows with each day
She hath my heart for we were once one.
She hath my heart, the heart of the boy inside the man
I hath her heart, the heart we once shared.
Though separated in body the hearts still paired.
She hath my heart i need her near.
She hath my heart my mama dear
She hath my heart and she already knows
In a world of thorny bushes she stands out like rose
She hath my heart for she is always by my side
When the sun sets she is my light, she is my guide.
poem by Soul Child
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
It's Always Only You
For so long it's been only you
Never another could compare
I'd come to you with my broken heart
And you have always been right there
The darkest days could stretch ahead
And clouds could hover above
Your tender heart would clear the skies
And bring sunlight full of love
Your selfless love and sacrifice
Your heart that's purest gold
Grows much sweeter every day
As my battered heart you hold
The peace and joy you bring to me
Has healed my heart, that's true
My heart gives happy thanks each day
For love, it's always only you
poem by Glata Grindstaff
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Bitter Sweet Love
Bitter sweet love
Why do you steal my heart and soul,
I hate you,
I love you because I hate you,
I hate you because I love you
Why do I hate you when I love you
Its a bitter sweet love.
You stole my heart
You stole my thoughts
How could you?
You made my legs wiggle,
Slightly I started to giggle.
I hate this
I hate you,
I love you because I hate you,
I hate you because I love you,
Why do I hate you when I love you
Its a bitter sweet love.
You make me smile
You make me laugh
Why do I love you?
You driving me insane.
Its a bitter sweet love
And its giving me a pain.
The key to the lock of my heart, is stabbing right through my chest.
I hate you,
I love you because I hate you,
I hate you because I love you,
Why do I hate you when I love you
Its a bitter sweet love.
A bitter sweet love!
poem by Savannah Harker
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Tides of Life
As the tides of life ebb and flow, you dear friend, may never know,
What the tides will bring your way, as they change from day to day.
This life and all its uncertainty, can change the path of you and me,
And as we journey upon life’s tide, we need an anchor by our side.
You need an anchor in your heart, for your soul that will not depart,
An anchor for every single tide, that keeps you secure deep inside.
Life’s tides can become high or low, no matter where in life you go,
This life can even bring a drought, filling a heart with fears or doubt.
Even when life brings a high tide, one needs to have an inner guide,
One guide to lead you from above, should the tide become a flood.
Friend, during any flood in your life, you can rely upon Jesus Christ,
Who calmed the wind and the sea, can calm a heart for you and me.
He can save you from all harms, taking you in His everlasting arms,
As God places both you and me, upon Christ, The Rock of Eternity.
The Rock that anyone can know, wherever the tides of life may flow,
As it is The Lord’s amazing Grace, that reaches down to every place.
God will save you from life’s flood, through the power of the blood,
Shed for all nations by Jesus Christ, to purchase for all Eternal Life.
And it is that tide from Calvary, which reaches men like you and me,
So that we can live forevermore, upon Christ’s golden Eternal shore.
(Copyright ©07/2007)
Flood-Tide of Flowers
IN HOLLAND
The laggard winter ebbed so slow
With freezing rain and melting snow,
It seemed as if the earth would stay
Forever where the tide was low,
In sodden green and watery gray.
But now from depths beyond our sight,
The tide is turning in the night,
And floods of color long concealed
Come silent rising toward the light,
Through garden bare and empty field.
And first, along the sheltered nooks,
The crocus runs in little brooks
Of joyance, till by light made bold
They show the gladness of their looks
In shining pools of white and gold.
The tiny scilla, sapphire blue,
Is gently seeping in, to strew
The earth with heaven; and sudden rills
Of sunlit yellow, sweeping through,
Spread into lakes of daffodils.
The hyacinths, with fragrant heads,
Have overflowed their sandy beds,
And fill the earth with faint perfume,
The breath that Spring around her sheds.
And now the tulips break in bloom!
A sea, a rainbow-tinted sea,
A splendor and a mystery,
Floods o'er the fields of faded gray:
The roads are full of folks in glee,
For lo, -- to-day is Easter Day!
poem by Henry Van Dyke
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!