Tomas Transtromer

April and Silence

Spring lies deserted.
The velvet-dark ditch
crawls by my side without reflections.
All that shines
are yellow flowers.
I’m carried in my shadow
like a violin in its black case.
The only thing I want to say
gleams out of reach
like the silver
in a pawnshop.

poem by Tomas Transtromer from The Sorrow GondolaReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Related quotes

The Bow and the Strings

How dark and heavy’s the delirium’s embrace!
How they’re turbid under moon – the heights!
To have touched Violin for so many years
And not distinguish those Strings in light!

Who craves for us? Who, insolent, has set
In flames two faces, yellow and vexed,
And suddenly the saddened Bow felt
That someone took them and forever merged.

‘How long ago it was – as in a dream –
Tell me trough dark: are you the same one, else?’…
And Strings pressed close, caressing, to him,
Ringing and tossing in their fond caress.

‘Is that all true, that it’s enough, God blessed,
That we shall never ever part again?
And poor Violin replied him always ‘yes’,
Though its heart was sinking in sharp pain.

Bow fell silent, understanding, then,
But poor Violin still echoed its complaint,
And what seemed music to the most men,
To both of them was everlasting pain.

The man didn’t blow, till the night was gone,
The candles … And the Strings were singing, yet…
And they were found, drained of strength, by sun
On the black velvet of the sleepless bed.


Translated by Yevgeny Bonver, January, 2001

poem by Innokenty Fedorovich AnnenskyReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Eternal Light

The silver moon shines brilliant light onto the velvet sky, The ocean waves whisper lyrics that will make you cry. You are different one of a kind, you are undefined. You are my sun, my silver moon, you are my loving light.You are the one in the dark that always shines so bright.

poem by Nadia McDonaldReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Moonlight Shadow

The last that ever she saw him
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
He passed on worried and warning
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Lost in a riddle last saturday night
Far away on the other side.
He was caught in the middle of a desperate fight
And she couldn't find how to push through

The trees that whisper in the evening
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Sing a song of sorrow and grieving
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
All she saw was a silhouette of a gun
Far away on the other side.
He was shot six times by a man on the run
And she couldn't find how to push through

I stay
I pray
I see you in heaven far away

I stay
I pray
I see you in heaven one day

Four AM in the morning
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
I watched your vision forming
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Stars move slowly in the silvery night
Far away on the other side
"Will you come to talk to me this night?"
But she couldn't find how to push through

I stay
I pray
I see you in heaven far away

I stay
I pray
I see you in heaven one day

Far away on the other side.

Caught in the middle of a hundred and five
The night was heavy but the air was alive
But she couldn't find how to push through

Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Far away on the other side.

song performed by by Mike Oldfield from CrisesReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Varied And Intense

Enriched my office world with two new
flowers, soft purple with yellow centre
and small, unassuming yellow sprig,
exuberance of spring in my life

Adding pink to the passionate orange
flowery explosions next to my desk
was a mistake, a pink cobweb scarf
with silver thread does not work

The colours of my aura probably are
varied and intense to demand such
an array of colours around me, I'm
happy; may this feeling continue

Until I go home today, I need strong
emotion to help me through this
dark shadow in my head…

13 September 2012

poem by Margaret Alice SecondReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Is it Dark on the Other Side

What lies on the other side of death?
What happens at the last breath?
How will I feel inside?
When I take a look at life from the outside?

In life there is no place to hide,
No need to step aside,
Don't wanna have too much pride!
It is along life's truth that we must glide!

Is it dark on the other side?
Are we all gonna be fried?
No way, I say,
No need to be afraid!

When you feel it is time to rest,
Lay your head on love's breast,
And when you reach the other side,
You will see that I've not lied,

Life is love's game,
So don't be tame,
Set your hearts aflame,
No one but yourself to blame!

The Light shines bright next to the dark,
Within all life lies the spark,
Of eternal life and love,
Just wait until you see the Dove!

26 June 2012

poem by David Andre' KlopperReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Bow and Strings

What heavy, dark delirium!
What dim and moonlit heights!
To touch the violin for years
And not to know the strings by light!

Who needs us now? And who lit up
Two hollow, melancholy faces...
And suddenly the bow felt
Someone take them up, unite them.

"How long it's been! Amidst this gloom
Just tell me this: are you still the same?"
The strings caressed the bow,
Rang out, caressed it slightly trembling.

"Is it not true, that we will never more
Be parted. It's enough..."
Yes, replied the violin,
But pain was throbbing in her heart.

The bow discerned it and grew mute,
The echo still continued in the violin...
What was a torture to them both
The people heard as music.

But the violinist didn't snuff
The candles out 'til dawn...The strings sang on...
The sun found them worn out
On the black velvet of their bed.

poem by Innokenty Fedorovich AnnenskyReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Spring's Sonnet

The golden dust of the sad moon,
Sifts musical notes all around,
I listen to this simple tune,
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.

White angels play the violin,
The yellow birds sing a new song,
The party's on, the fun begins,
Red flowers smiling, come along.

Blue butterflies dancing with me,
Old stars come down to kiss the earth,
New silver bells ring... Victory!
Snowdrops announce the new Spring birth.

Cherry blossom rise in splendor,
As the winter slow surrender!

poem by Marius Alexandru (March 2020)Report problemRelated quotes
Submitted by anonym
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Spring's Sonnet

The golden dust of the sad moon,
Sifts musical notes all around,
I listen to this simple tune,
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.

White angels play the violin,
The yellow birds sing a new song,
The party’s on, the fun begins,
Red flowers smiling, come along.

Blue butterflies dancing with me,
Old stars come down to kiss the earth,
New silver bells ring… Victory!
Snowdrops announce the new Spring birth.

Cherry blossom rise in splendor,
As the winter slow surrender!

poem by Marius Alexandru (2 February 2020)Report problemRelated quotes
Submitted by anonym
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Digging A Ditch

I'm digging a ditch
Where madness lives
I'm digging a ditch
Where my silence lives
I'm diggin a ditch and when I am through
Digging this ditch I'll dig one for you
Digging a ditch
As black as cold
Digging a ditch
Where I can hide my soul
Digging a ditch
Where my secrets stay

[The Newer Version

song performed by by Dave Matthews Band from Busted StuffReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Capeweed

Originally from South Africa and quite pretty indeed
Those flowers in Spring that cover the paddocks they are known as capeweed
With bright yellow petals and a dark brown heart
From all others quite easy to tell them apart.

Unwanted in Australia or 'twould seem that way
About them the farmers have no kinds words to say
But like thistles they survive deadly toxic spray
Though quite pretty to look at on a bright Spring day.

No strangers to the paddocks they are quite well known
And they have a beauty that is of their own
In late Winter and Spring in abundance to be seen
Their bright yellow flowers dapple Nature's own green.

The farmers cannot kill them off though hard they do try
And with each passing year they seem to multiply
In the paddocks they seem to dance in the breezes of Spring
When the weather is warming and the nesting birds sing.

poem by Francis DugganReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Angels Of Madness

Guy Allison, Michael Hossack, John McFee
EarthWalk Music (ASCAP) / Moon On The Lake Music (ASCAP) / Long Tooth Music (BMI)
There are no questions left to ask,
Through your eyes I can see, our future now lies in the past.
It can't be measured in simple time
Each stolen moment shared, a theft divine.
And I
Drift through the shadows of a memory,
Silently echoing the words I'll never hear again.
While the
Angels of madness hold you in their arms
Seductive lies disguised as truth.
As you fade in their dark caress
Still I reach through empty nights for you.
Love is no sin
Your night will end.
Reflections they won't let you see,
They weave a tapestry
from broken threads of shattered dreams.
You hold a mirror to yourself
And shine the light of blame on someone else.
And I
Float through the echoes of the silence,
Lost in the shadow of the face I'll never see again.
While the
Angels of madness hold you in their arms,
Seductive lies they told as truth.
As you fade in their dark caress,
Still I reach through empty nights for you.
Love is no sin.
Your night will end. While the
Angels of madness hold you in their arms,
Seductive lies they told as truth.
As you fade in their dark caress,
Still I reach through empty nights for you.
Love is no sin.
Your night will end

song performed by by Doobie BrothersReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

In The Museum

Quite something it was to see
how in the museum, around the famous image
by Monet, the poet of waters, running and still,
the Master of Givenchy, painter of green-running rivers,
yellow arches of bridges, wands of yellow willows
trailing their tips in the water's depths;
star-flowers sitting squarely a-squat flat pads
stems cork-screwing down into the water's velvety dark
above eel-grass undulant in swales below the current's jade,
shadows and reflections everywhere, mystery compounding,
shadows and glints of color there and here
the outcome and culmination of time spent
in the shrewd, impassive, life-long observance of Nature-
observance being essentially an act of worship-
taking time and reams of patience to begin to refine;
reflections that hint at the mind of the Creator,
reflections that make for the highest end of living,
reflections that poultrice the insult of living itself,
unburdened by any cloying bourgeois 'should'-
water, air.....

poem by Morgan MichaelsReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Oscar Wilde

Symphony in Yellow

An omnibus across the bridge
Crawls like a yellow butterfly,
And, here and therem a passer-by
Shows like a little restless midge.

Big barges full of yellow hay
Are moored against the shadowy wharf,
And, like a yellow silken scarf,
The thick fog hangs along the quay.

The yellow leaves begin to fade
And flutter from the temple elms,
And at my feet the pale green Thames
Lies like a rod of rippled jade.

poem by Oscar WildeReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Travel Flowers

When you travel ‘cross the country
You see along the roadways
Bright and cheerful flowers especially
In the warm spring and summer days

I love the beautiful sunflowers
Bold yellow blooms you see
Nodding in the gentle winds
Seem to say “hello” to me

White flowers ‘long side a trail
Roots go deep in red dirt
Stand out just beautifully
As they crop up in little spurts

Old barns off in the distance
In the midst of a field of dry grass
Are dotted with many flowers
Oh, I enjoy them when I pass

When spring time sets in and we have
Warm and gentle spring showers
I love to start my trips to see
Delightful travel flowers!

poem by Marilyn LottReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Primrose

Yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow!
It is not a color.
It is summer!
It is the wind on a willow,
the lap of waves, the shadow
under a bush, a bird, a bluebird,
three herons, a dead hawk
rotting on a pole--
Clear yellow!
It is a piece of blue paper
in the grass or a threecluster of
green walnuts swaying, children
playing croquet or one boy
fishing, a man
swinging his pink fists
as he walks--
It is ladysthumb, forget-me-nots
in the ditch, moss under
the flange of the carrail, the
wavy lines in split rock, a
great oaktree--
It is a disinclination to be
five red petals or a rose, it is
a cluster of birdsbreast flowers
on a red stem six feet high,
four open yellow petals
above sepals curled
backward into reverse spikes--
Tufts of purple grass spot the
green meadow and clouds the sky.

poem by William Carlos WilliamsReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Hello Shadows

Shadows imitate every thing in life
But it does not argue, fuss, or fight
And can be changed by the reflection of light
Your shadow will imitate everything that you do
For that shadow belongs to you.

The shadow of an object can
hide you from the sun
Not just you but every one.

Shadows have but one color (black)
And it is not belittled or put down
But accepted by all you see
Which makes it one of gods mysteries.

It can be seen in the sunlight
But not in the dark
It can even be seen with artificial light
And the kids have fun with it
Man! What a sight.

It has no face to show emotions
And it will always be by your side
Although at times it must hide.
The sun can not touch it, as it stares up at you
This is something the sun can not do.

The shadow will walk in front of you
Or in back, or walk on your sides
But will always be there wherever you go
For it is something that we all know
And to my shadow I say “hello”.

poem by Louis RamsReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Shadow/suicudan/angel

shadow is a personality
shadow is always there to torment me
shadow makes me live in fear
shadow makes me cry out black dark tears
-------

suicudan is another personality
suicudan is a hurt side of me
suicudan is a person who tells me to cut
suicudan is a person who lets me leak out blood
suicudan is there when i need to die
suicudan is there when i need to cover up my lies
-------

angel is another side of me
angel is a person who helps me lets me live happy and in peace
angel is like of the faces that i love
angel is then a force that takes me above
angel makes my luck good
angel makes me like it should

poem by Jon CrowellReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

In The Prime Of September

The paddocks looking yellow where the capeweed does bloom
And bright golden flowers on the gorse and the broom
And the flute of the shrike thrush is pleasant to hear
In the prime of September in the Spring of the year
At this time of year the musical magpies they sing day and night
How pleasant to hear them piping in the moonlight
And blackbird by his voice you cannot get wrong
He welcomes the dawn of the day with a song
Frisky lambs in the paddocks are frolicking about
When the Goddess of Spring is in the Land of the south
The laughter of the kookaburra the call of the weerloo
The big dark brown bird better known as yellow tail black cockatoo
Fruit bearing trees in blossom and nesting birds sing
In the prime of September in the southern Spring.

poem by Francis DugganReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Velvet Dark

I heard a song last night
Alone in my car, in the velvet dark
It epitomised my feelings, my reelings
And I began to understand

'I never lost you, you were never mine'
Those words rang true, stung my heart
Driving at one mile per hour
In the velvet dark

I smiled as the lonely tear fell
A wry, upside-down frown
And the music began to painfully soothe
In the velvet dark

You were never, ever mine
To touch, to feel, just a ghost
Of a promise, whom I would never see
In the velvet dark

Lucky those roads were quiet
No crazed drivers forcing me on
And I pulled into a hidden corner
In the velvet dark

Your heart wasn't mine
To try to hold and to repair
You needed me and I needed you
In the velvet dark

We tried to make it
Through impossible barriers
Of dreams and hopes, spinning uncontrollably
In the velvet dark

Picking up my emotions
I pulled back onto that road
Moving towards my home, my sanity
In the velvet dark

I never lost you, I'll never lose you
I'll just remember, the good times
There were a few heady nights together
In the velvet dark

So, this song I will remember
For bringing home to me
The truth, the bitter-sweet memories
Forever in the velvet dark

poem by Michelle TiddyReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Violin

Four strings across the bridge,
Ready to carry me over,
Over the quavers, drunk in the bars,
Out of the realm of the orchestra,
Out of the realm of the orchestra.
Filling me up with the shivers.
Filling me up with the shivers and quivers.
Filling me up with the shivers.
Get the bow going!
Let it scream to me:
Violin! violin! violin!
Get the bow going!
Let it scream to me:
Violin! violin! violin!
Paganini up on the chimney,
Lord of the dance,
With nero and old nicky.
Whack that devil
Into my fiddlestick!
Give me the banshees for b.v.s,*
Give me the banshees for b.v.s.
Jigging along with the fiddle, oh, johnny.
Jigging along with the fiddle-dee-dee.
Jigging along with the fiddle, oh, johnny.
Jigging along with the fiddle-dee-diddle-dee-dee!
Get the bow going!
Let it scream to me:
Violin! violin! violin!
Get the bow going!
Let it scream to me:
Violin! violin! violin!
Get the bow going!
Let it scream to me:
Violin! violin! violin!
Get the bow going!
Let it scream to me:
Violin! violin! violin!

song performed by by Kate BushReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share