Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.
Related quotes
The leader is born
What do you want to be:
the tail of a lion
or the head of a rat?
Tail is fragile and safe.
Head is a bonnet and braving.
Some are tails, and trail behind.
Some are heads, and plunge ahead.
A leader is born and not made.
31.12.2000, pmdi.
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

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Tiger By The Tail
What a shock it was so surprising
You looked so small and frail
I didnt know what to do
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
People said that you must be joking
You let emotions run away with you
I realized a little too late
I bit off more than I could chew
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
Sometimes you grip it right
And sometimes you fail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
At times life can be so enlightening
But it can turn on you
Lately it gets so complicated i
I dont know what the tiger will do
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
Sometimes you grip it right
And sometimes you fail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
Sometimes you grip it right
And sometimes you fail
I grabbed the tiger by the tail
song performed by by Rick Springfield

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Crossbow
With a crossbow an arrow struck and pierced
The neck so worn by the gentry, for the compensation.
It sent his heart recruitment, delight and then
Resignation, according to knighthood and the kings.
This picture was a game of dice, no prowess
Or courtesy, according to the laws of probability.
One of the gentry so inflicted marched forward
Like a remote order, the file and rank being narrow.
The crossbow struck him, disfiguring his brow,
Making it frowned upon, for the brow was His.
This head gorged appeared on the floor of the jungle,
Like a holy relic, accustomed to mighty stares.
poem by Naveed Akram

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Mermaid
Yet, there it as-
An image composed of droplets mustering into focus
Reversible. Itself of itself the watery isomer.
Idea given substance, however tenuous and fading-
Tail, head, tail, tail, head.
An ancient enigma, certainly not pretty
But in sum, bewitching.
Had it power over flesh, could it see me?
Only indirectly, I recalled, as in the water's mirror,
And I must desire it first.
'Choose', said the hologram, sternly, from its higher station.
It was as if a hand had suddenly cupped my head.
But what part of the mermaid was I?
The muscular tail that could knock a man clear
Across a quarterdeck, against the rail?
A treacherous tail with a fornix?
Dumbly pummeling the floorboards, waterborne no more,
Spectral hues revived with a bucket of sea-water
Sparkled like a Roman grotto?
Judgement recoiled from the notion.
No, I would not!
The sickening barnacles, sea worts, the loathesome remoras,
Flukes, raggedy, gummed with oily beads
Always needing combing, combing, combing-
I touched my...
poem by Morgan Michaels

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Weird-Bird
from the wire chirp
on the wire chirp
frantic head
to and fro
to and fro
chirp, chirp, chirp
little bird on a wire
head and beak
to and fro
to and fro
ten times in a second
tail up, tail down, tail up, tail down
the tight feathered bodice
doing a twist
legs angled tight on tiny wire
a tightrope walker
chirp, chirp, chirp
looking for some fun
looking for a companion to share its day
chirp, chirp, chirp
inspired by
Weird-Bird
Birds are flyin' south for winter.
Here's the Weird-Bird headin' north,
Wings a-flappin', beak a-chatterin',
Cold head bobbin' back 'n' forth.
He says, 'It's not that I like ice
Or freezin' winds and snowy ground.
It's just sometimes it's kind of nice
To be the only bird in town.'
Shel Silverstein
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo

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Sonnet: Nothing Is Permanent
Some friends have left; some more are leaving too;
To greener pastures, grass, more succulent;
I wonder when comes turn to me, to you;
And if it comes, I'm sure, we won't relent.
'Tis sad that people never realize,
That all Indians are brothers and sisters;
And yet they cheat them by the game of dice;
Tho' honesty in this world sure matters.
'Ask not what your country has done for you;
Ask what you have done for it”-it is said;
The reverse saying with time becomes true;
For life is short before each one is dead.
If head is right, the tail will wag but slight;
If tail is right, the head can't show its might.
poem by John Celes

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The Little Slit in the Tail
I’M GLAD that the Bushmen can’t see me now
A-doing it tall in the town;
I’ve an inch-brimmed hat on my sun-burnt brow—
And my collar jumps up and down.
I’m wearing a vest that would charm a snake,
And a tie like a lost soul’s wail;
And I’m dressed in a coat of the latest make,
With a little slit in the tail:
With a little slit in the tail of it,
With a little slit in the tail.
My pants alone are a thing of joy,
And they’re built to show my bends,
With a crease behind and a crease before,
And a little curl in the ends.
I carry my nose-rag in my cuff,
And the lot should get me gaol—
I paid five guineas for my rig-out,
And one for the slit in the tail:
For the little slit in the tail of it,
For the little slit in the tail.
poem by Henry Lawson

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Shake A Tail Feather
(o. hayes, v. rice, a. williams)
Producer: chris lor-aldge
Albums: whats love got to do wth it
B-side of the why must we wait until tonight? single
Well I heard about the girl
Youve been dancing with
All over the neighborhood
Tell me why didnt you ask me baby?
Or didnt you think I could?
Well I know that your partner will never step aside
Ive seen you do the jerk all night
Why didnt you ask me baby?
I would have shown you how to do it right
Do it right
Do it right
Do it right
Do it right
Do it right
Do it right
Do it right
Ahhhh!
Twist it
Shake it
Shake it
Shake it baby
Here we go loop de loop
Shake it up baby
Here we go loop de la
Bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
Bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
Bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
Bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
Well, you bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
Well, you bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
All right
Ahhhh!
Twist it
Shake it
Shake it
Shake it baby
Here we go loop de loop
And we shake it up baby
Here we go loop de la
All right now
Bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
Bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
So you bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
You bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
Well can I see you bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather?
Well bend over and let me see you shake a tail feather
Do it
Shake it
Shake it
Shake it baby do the twist
Come on baby oh come on
Ohhhh come on
Ahhh
Ahhh
Twist it
song performed by by Tina Turner

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Beloved Son
The legs of Africa are,
The legs of a struggle;
The hands of Africa are,
The hands of hope;
The eyes of Africa are,
The eyes of a cry;
The head of Africa is,
The head of the unborn;
The tail of African is,
The tail of a mission;
The horn of Africa is,
The horn of pirates;
The face of Africa is,
The face of love;
Like a message to my beloved son.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis

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My Genie
I was given a lot of work, one day in school,
Surely boring math and science, fit for a fool.
I prayed God to grant me a wish
He sent a genie with a swish.
With very little hair, short and stout,
Wearing a yellow shirt, like a scout.
God granted me this wish under one condition,
The genie must never be jobless in any situation.
Failing which my head would burst into ten piece.
Thinking of my homework, I was at peace.
In a soft voice, the genie said, “Give me your command”
Complete all my homework was my only demand.
I thought him to be a dork,
But it completed all my home work
Within a second.
To my fates end
Again it asked for a command, what could be said,
If I don’t say any, I would be dead.
Then I handed him a broom
And asked it to clean my room.
As cleaning my room is a difficult task,
I thought I would sit and bask.
But to my great surprise,
It cleaned my room before I could blink my eyes.
I didn’t know what to say next,
If I don’t say my head would be a bust.
Thinking, I went near the window sill,
Where I found a dog, whose tail was never still.
Then looking at my genie, feeling very pale
I asked him to straighten the dog’s tail.
The genie went and tried
To straighten the dog’s tail, but he failed.
The genie tried in shine and rain,
But the tail would bend back without any pain.
Being successful in my command,
At the thought of having saved my head.
I felt water splashing on my face,
Then I got up from the daze.
Neither dog nor genie
Homework still to be done by me.
But when my dream comes true
What would I do?
poem by Meenakshi Hariharan

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Cutter Cat Vs. The Jets
I met an alley cat
Pussyfootin around
Til the break of dawn
Found me knocked out flat on my head
Some feline beauty
Waved her tail my way
I just had to stay
I couldn't get the blood off my hands
She made my eyes bug out
Her tail stand up
And I ain't even in heat for a month
House cat
You really got it made
Sleepin all night
And perfect delight of day
Some feline beauty
Waved her tail my way
I just had to stay
I couldn't get the blood off my bed
She made my eyes bug out
Her tail stand up
And I ain't even in heat for a month
Some bad cats from 4th Street
Come down to our alley
Well we say that's cool
But just stay away from me and my boys
Eyes clash
And claws slash
And green-eyed fur goes flyin
Midnight
Catfight
Neckbite
Die
When you're a Jet
You're a Jet all the way
From your first cigarette
Til your last dyin day
When you're a Jet
Let 'em do what they can
Little boy
song performed by by Alice Cooper from School's Out

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Squirrel
When I see you were climbing a tree
I was really ashamed of myself
as sitting in an office the whole day
like a plump-pudding.
What a marvelous bushy tail you got; and what happened
to the man's tail?
How beautiful the man's primitive stage of evolution
or civilization; simple, crude and fundamental.
Then his name was Monkey only
no surnames at all.
Now we are facing the Apocalypse
and the burlesque human are in antics and real canibals.
The tail is very important nowadays.
At least we can proceed to a jungle
and live peacefully with the help of our tail
jumping from a tree to another tree
for our survival.
poem by Nimal Dunuhinga

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Some Lizard Thoughts On Another Night When I’m Alone
the lizard licks its tail
in a playful mood remembering
the younger days of its
short life,
IT is playing with light
wishing that there will be fire on the ceiling
too eager to please itself
upon itself
which by the way is our way of defining
what narcissism is all
about,
the lizard bit its own tail and
eat it
not worrying though because it can grow
another tail
in the manner of
auto-regeneration
which we humans do not have
really the ability to do
i watch it closely
like the cover page of the poems
of Gratian
till now, i cannot really figure out
whether
envy has seeded its discord
inside my
heart
or i am just hungry myself
and wish i had a tail
for me to eat
for supper....
poem by Ric S. Bastasa

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Measure
are we measuring time
or is time measuring us?
how old is time? where is its
head and where's the tail?
its beginning if not the end?
does it go in a round or
in a straight path? does it
need space to realise
its own identity?
are we measuring time
or is time measuring us?
how old am i? where is the
head and tail of this state of
being, this consciousness?
is it longer than time? Is it as old
and large as the universe?
if everything becomes sterile
100 years on, earth will be
as quiet and red as mars
time as ever goes on, a
measure of the unviverse
will time be sleeping then
in the bossom of our consciousness?
or will we be sleeping in its bossom
instead, waiting to be resurrected,
a component of matter, of time?
a pendulum that goes to and fro,
to and fro, to help us get a grasp
of the universe and its workings
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo

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Gecko Named Curly Tail
Looking down on the ground
Curly Tail the gecko waits
without a sound.
I say "Hello honey-how are you?
Where are your kids this afternoon?
Then when I leave the door
Curly Tail's offspring
is scampering once more.
Curly Tail waits for me
on the black mat—
It's like he knows where I am at.
He knows when I leave to go far,
he knows when I get out of my car.
Thanks Curly Tail for waiting for me-
see you later by the tree.
Written by Christina Sunrise on July 4,2012
www.christinasunrise.com
poem by Christina Sunrise

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Tail bite
Dog
Nicley...
Bite the
Dog tail...
The tail is not
Sweety...
But...
Dog bite
The tail...
poem by Otteri Selvakumar

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Fly Kite
kite fly
with out tail
on rounding
with a tail..
good flying..
kite fly with
air..
thred...
tail...
kite will bee
fly...?
i don't no
kite also don't
no
that is life
some thing
but nothing...
poem by Otteri Selvakumar

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In The Fashion
A lion has a tail and a very fine tail
And so has an elephant and so has a whale,
And so has a crocodile, and so has a quail-
They’ve all got tails but me.
If I had sixpence I would buy one;
I’d say to the shopman, ‘Let me try one’;
I’d say to the elephant, ‘This is my one.’
They’d all come round to see.
Then I’d say to the lion, ‘Why, you’ve got a tail!
And so has the elephant, and so has the whale!
And, look! There’s a crocodile! He’s got a
tail !
You’ve all got tails like me!’
poem by Alan Alexander Milne

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Tails
A lion has a tail and a very fine tail,
And so has an elephant, and so has a whale,
And so has a crocodile, and so has a quail–
They’ve all got tails but me.
If I had sixpence I would buy one;
I’d say to the shopman, ‘Let me try one’;
I’d say to the elephant, ‘This is my one.’
They’d all come round to see.
Then I’d say to the lion, ‘Why, you’ve got a tail!
And so has the elephant, and so has the whale!
And, look! There’s a crocodile! He’s got a tail!
You’ve all got tails like me!’
poem by Alan Alexander Milne

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What the peacock has too little on his head, he has too much on his tail.