Related quotes

Boy: I did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart. But the saying is true: "The empty vessel makes the greatest sound."
line from Henry V, Act IV, Scene 4 by William Shakespeare (1599)

Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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More Fun Than A Barrel Of Monkeys
there are multiple questions pertaining to the concept,
'more fun than a barrel of monkeys.'
how big is the barrel?
how many monkeys are we talking about?
how big are the monkeys? Are we talking spider monkeys, chimps, baboons or what?
Are the monkeys old or young and where's the barrel, inside or outside?
If you leave the monkeys in the barrel, you got a problem:
they'll die in their own excrement,
if you lift the lid and let them out,
they might kill you.
a monkey can rip out your eyes, is that fun?
monkeys, leaping and running around the house, can do a lot of damage, is that fun?
monkeys are dirty, so... what exactly do you consider fun?
what's it going to be like trying to get the monkeys back in the barrel?
would that be fun?
what would the neighbors think of you, if you released the monkeys into their yards?
what happens if the police gets involved?
it could mean everything imaginable is more fun than a barrel of these animals.
maybe even more fun than a barrel of human beings.
poem by Richard Jarboe

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Sounds, Within And Without
have you ever listened
to the sounds of
a young boy praying
after his father and mother
have split up
have you heard the sound
a small animal makes when
it's hit by a car?
kinda like the sound a child makes
when it's split open by friendly fire!
have you felt the deep down
sound the young boy makes
when the judge sentences him
to hard time
the sound you cant see on his face
have you heard the sound
of the old man's heart
fighting to hold on
in an empty room
with the curtains pulled
have you ever heard the sound
of the wolf's howl, and
the hawk's scree
buried deep beneath
the layers that cover
your own wildness
are you listening
poem by Eric Cockrell

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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When I was a kid, the disaster we worried about most was a nuclear war. That’s why we had a barrel … down in our basement, filled with cans of food and water. When the nuclear attack came, we were supposed to go downstairs, hunker down, and eat out of that barrel. Today, the greatest risk of global catastrophe doesn’t look like this. … If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it’s most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war. Not missiles, but microbes.
quote by Bill Gates

Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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As empty vessels make the loudest sound, so they that have least with are the greatest babblers.
The Greatest
Little boy, in a baseball hat stands in the field with his ball and bat.
Says, "I am the greatest player of them all" puts his bat on his shoulder and he tosses up his ball.
And the ball goes up and the ball comes down swings his bat all the way around
The world so still you can hear the sound, the baseball falls to the ground.
Now the little boy doesn't say a word, picks up his ball, he is undeterred.
Says, "I am the greatest there has ever been" and he grits his teeth and he tries it again.
And the ball goes up and the ball comes down swings his bat all the way around
The world so still you can hear the sound, the baseball falls to the ground.
He makes no excuses, he shows no fear, he just closes his eyes and listens to the cheers.
Little boy, he adjusts his hat, picks up his ball, stares at his bat
Says,"I am the greatest, the game is on the line" and he gives his all one last time.
And the ball goes up and the moon so bright, swings his bat with all his might
The world's as still, as still can be, the baseball falls and that's strike three.
Now it's suppertime and his momma calls, little boy starts home with his bat and ball.
Says, "I am the greatest, that is a fact, but even I didn't know I could pitch like that!"
Says, "I am the greatest,that is understood, but even I didn't know I could pitch that good!
song performed by by Kenny Rogers

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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After Poetry-reading (with apologies to Robert Frost)
My library door’s still open
with its invitations and its promises
and empty shelves waiting to be filled
and on the table two or three new books
yet unread; but I’m done with poetry-reading now.
I’m sleepy; I’m full of poetry;
smell of poetry; taste of poetry;
close to, you can hear me buzz..
I can’t get the sound of other poets
out of my head.
Sometimes it’s envy; sometimes
just annoyance, like the sound
of the man next door with his buzz-saw;
and I can’t help hearing, too,
the sound of postboy bringing yet more books
by other poets; the presses rumbling
with yet more poetry books to come..
some, I fear, they’ll ask me to ‘review’..
yes, I’ve had too much of what
I helped to start – that great harvest
of ‘American Poetry’ ten thousand thousand
graduates of college courses;
chapbooks, self-print, little mags, by the barrel-load
and so many bad apples to each barrel;
fruiting like sour crabs
on the dead wood of faculty appointments;
how much wood can this woodchuck chuck,
amidst the woods and two paths’ luck?
jeez, I’m sleepy; feel a long sleep coming on;
the book I’m holding slides from my hands,
its pages turn without my turning them;
like you, my fingers, mind… frost-bitten.
poem by Michael Shepherd

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Rise in life is a vanity.
Every rise in your status
Makes you rigid to stoop.
Love that in-flows is false.
Love that out-flows is stagnant.
At last, you end up as useless,
An empty barrel in vanity.
A creeper that hardened to a tree.
29.05.2002, pakd
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Springy Phrases
What is this sound
So sharp and so clear
That tickles and titillates
Against my ear
What tis it that causes
My spirits to sing
What could it be
This most miraculous thing
What is that makes me
feel so alive again
After an infernal winter
That seemed without end
After the ice and the freezing
And the frost bitten fingers
What is that crisp new sound
That echoes and lingers
What could it be
That makes me feel so full of hope
What could it be that
Makes me feel and act like a dope
What is this gentle sound
That Fractures fearsome, frozen rivers
this soft sibilant sound
That gives surcease to my shivers
What is that sound that
makes me feel like I’m ten again
I think that I know now…
It’s an old, long lost friend
What is this wondrous noise
and clamorous din
That makes my heart take wing
It could only be
what we’ve wanted, you see
The noisy thing that is breaking ….is Spring!
poem by David Whalen

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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It Rains
it rains
it is far from what i guess
the road has become
one empty
platform
people run away
and then it makes me
really happy
it rains
and those who are afraid of the water
are separated from those
who have no fears
of getting wet and of being alone
of filling an empty street and be counted as
an ostrich
it rains
and the room shall be filled with people
of runaways
who want shelter
it rains and people get divided
and people know each other
and people make decisions
and the rain makes the sound
there is sorrow
but no one cares to listen
poem by Ric S. Bastasa

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.
quote by David Attenborough

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Greatest
[Intro]
(The the, the the, the the, the the)
Don't throw no roses on my grave, boo
That's not a soldier, it's more like an angel
You got no where to run, no one to pray to
Jesus and Moses ain't comin' to save you
(The greatest, the the the greatest)
I flow like a butterfly, I sting like a hornet
They won't let me have it
Not even if no one else want it
And if I try to take it
They wanna break me down and strip me naked
They write a brand new rule and break it
They lie, they cheat, they steal, they fake it
But I'mma make it, Lord I can take it
I'm the (The greatest man alive)
Cut the drama boy, save it for your mama
I'm the (The greatest man alive)
I can't sweat it, know I got to get it
I'm the (The greatest man alive)
Without no doubt, my name will survive
(The greatest the the greatest man alive)
(The greatest man)
(The greatest, the the)
I'mma make it, Lord I can take it
I'm the (The greatest man alive)
Cut the drama boy, save it for your mama
I'm the (The gratest man alive)
I can't sweat it, I know I got to get it
I'm the (The greatest man alive)
Without no doubt, my name will survive
(The, the greatest man alive)
(The greatest, the the greatest man)
(The the, the greatest man alive)
(The, the the greatest, the the the greatest man)
(The greatest man alive)
I'mma make it, know that I can take it
I'm the (The greatest man alive)
Cut the drama boy, save it for your mama
I'm the (The greatest man alive)
I can't sweat it, I know I gotta get it
I'm the (The greatest man alive)
Without no doubt my name will survive
(The greatest man, the greatest man alive)
It only gets harder
It always seems so far away
The sky's getting darker
Another storm is on the way
(The the greatest, the the the greatest,the the)
Another storm is on the way
(The the the the greatest, the the greatest)
(The greatest man alive)
song performed by by Everlast

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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