When the Tsar sins the Empire must do penance.
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A Russian Tale
The tsar our little father had grown old, very old. Now he could not even strangle a dove with his own hands. Sitting on his throne he was golden and frigid. Only his beard grew, down to the floor and farther.
Then someone else ruled, it was not known who. Curious folk peeped into the palace windows but Krivonosov screened the windows with gibbets. Thus only the hanged saw anything.
In the end the tsar our little father died for good. The bells rang and rang, yet they did not bring his body out. Our tsar had grown into the throne. The legs of the throne had become all mixed up with the legs of the tsar. His arm and the armrest were one. It was impossible to tear him loose. And to bury the tsar along with the golden throne - what a shame.
poem by Zbigniew Herbert
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Confessing Sins
when guilt is full
there comes a time when we think of
the possibility of confessing our sins,
the usual sins of omissions
more than our sins of commissions,
to a friend perhaps, but you doubt
for he has more sins than you have
and it might as well end
on the reverse, you the listening tree
and he the barking dog,
or perhaps to a religious group but
you shy away because of their number
and you might as well at the end be the
subject of their gossip
in town for a week or so,
and so you become a catholic again
on a Sunday before your parish priest
you kneel down and confess your sins,
and your dismay the priest says,
'
my son these are not sins anymore
under the new doctrines
with an ending, don't worry my boy
you'll do penance just the same
say three our fathers and three hail Mary's
and don't come back
your sins are the same as mine'
what comfort is this, when sins are confessed
to a person on the same misery and guilt as we are.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Batuschka
[Author's Note: The title means "little father" or "dear little father", a term of endearment applied to the Tsar in Russian folk-song. --T.B.A.]
From yonder gilded minaret
Beside the steel-blue Neva set,
I faintly catch, from time to time,
The sweet, aerial midnight chime--
"God save the Tsar!"
Above the ravelins and the moats
Of the white citadel it floats;
And men in dungeons far beneath
Listen, and pray, and gnash their teeth--
"God save the Tsar!"
The soft reiterations sweep
Across the horrer of their sleep,
As if some dæmon in his glee
Were mocking at their misery--
"God save the Tsar!"
In his Red Palace over there,
Wakeful, he needs must hear the prayer.
How can it drown the broken cries
Wrung from his children's agonies?--
"God save the Tsar!"
Father they called him from of old--
Batuschka! . . . How his heart is cold!
Wait till a million scourgëd men
Rise in their awful might, and then
God save the Tsar!
poem by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
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Kindness is the unmatching penance
'O' heart!
Do penance! Do penance!
If you do penance, you can achieve
Whatever you like, in this universe;
Nothing is equal and better than kindness,
Kindness is the unmatchable penance,
People who are kind to everybody
Live for ever gladly and happily'
poem by V.K. Kanniappan
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Sin separates me from God
My sins take me away from Thee afar,
And make me think, I can achieve great things,
Without the help of God I will be Star,
With health and wealth and fame among earthlings.
My sins appease my disturb'd mind somewhat,
And give me transient joy and happiness;
But not for long; I'm back in life's ghats!
And guilt engulfs with much nervousness.
In life, I ought to be nearer to God;
My sins have dug a deep abyss 'twixt us;
With weary heart, I really forgot,
Remorse, penance, provide my Omnibus.
I promise God, never to sin again.
My Sun has set and clouds will bring the Rain.
poem by John Celes
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Alexander III
The world in mourning for a Russian Tsar!
A despot of the nineteenth century
Mourned by the nations that have made men free!
Ye captives of his rule! where'er ye be,
Whether in dungeons or in mines afar—
Wretches who mourn, yet mourn not for the Tsar,—
Forgive the tears that seem a wrong to grief
Barren of comfort and without relief!—
The Tsar was Russia's martyr,—as ye are!
He asked for peace, and she ordained him strife.
A Slav of simple heart, disliking show,
She bade him every lowly hope forego;
And placing on his brow her crown of woe,
Gave him a sovereignty with perils rife,
And 'neath his sceptre hid the assassin's knife.
So, masked as Fear, she broke his nerves of steel
Upon the circle of her racking wheel,
And set a horror at his door of life!
Humanity but sorrows for her own;
The Autocrat she mourns not, but the man,
Who, loving Russia, lived beneath her ban,
Powerless to soften fate or change the plan
That called him all unwilling to a throne,
Hereditary evils to atone.
She mourns not Cæsar, but the pathos old
Of a quick conscience, driven to uphold
A dynasty the world had long outgrown.
Woe to the Tsar!—Livadia's cannon boom,
Proclaiming that the Tsar from woe is free!
Peace to the Tsar! but, Russia, woe to thee!
Still he who rules thee shall thy victim be,
Tortured by griefs that shall his heart consume,
Till he and thou, risen as from the tomb,
Shall see the light on Liberty's calm face,
Shall know that tyranny must yield its place
To the great spirit that hath breathed its doom!
poem by Florence Earle Coates from Poems (1898)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works.
quote by Thomas Aquinas
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Pirate Of Penance
Penance crane:
The pirate anchored on a wednesday
And why he came to port I wonder
To see a lady so my friends say
She dances for the sailors
In a smoky cabaret bar underground
Down in a cellar in a harbor town
I know he told her love was treasure
And they would reap the fullest bounty
He only comes to port for pleasure
So when the winds of morning
Blew the curtains in she woke and found hed gone
I saw his sails unfurling thursday dawn
The pirate he will sink you with a kiss
Hell steal your heart and sail away
The dancer:
Saturday early we met in the cove near the forest
Penance:
Hell leave you drowning in the flotsam of a broken promise in the bay
The dancer:
(dancing we wakened the dawn and the birds into chorus)
Penance:
He came again to see her
Yes I think they told me it was saturday
The dancer:
(ask penance crane she was out in her garden she saw us)
Penance:
I was at sea then
I didnt see them
I dont believe what you are saying
It isnt true I hardly knew him
Is this some game that you are playing
Go ask the dancer shes the one who saw him last
The one who drew him here
He hasnt come to me since spring last year
There was a time when he would
Bring me silks and sandalwood and persian lace
The dancer:
(then came another goodbye and another please dont go)
Penance:
And he would hold me close
And tell my sailing stories by the fireplace
The dancer:
(all night I dance and all day I keep watch with my sorrow)
Penance:
I was at sea I tell you I was
Nowhere near the mentioned murder place
The dancer:
(searching for sails that dont come
And I guess but I dont know)
Penance:
Go ask the dancer
She knows the answer
The dancer:
I dont know
Penance:
She knows the answer
The dancer:
I dont know
Penance:
She knows the answer
The dancer:
I dont know
song performed by by Joni Mitchell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sonnet: Is Earthly-life, a Purgatory?
O God, perhaps this is my purgatory!
Help me to bear my sufferings with joy;
Let pain and strife become my offertory;
Let not the devils with my soul to toy.
When trials come and tribulations too,
My face must wear a smile that never fades;
When out of habit, mortal sins I do,
Let me ignore the devils’ accolades!
Let remorse strike my plaintive heart early;
Let guilt not make me commit suicide;
Just like you can’t uncurl the curly hair,
Man sins, his actions being malafide!
Make me penitent and do my penance;
Gain forgiveness to see God’s countenance.
poem by John Celes
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Sonnet: God’s, the Almighty One
Renounce your sins and come back to the Lord!
Pour out your heart and make it burden-less;
Penance gives you the mercy/ grace of God,
And freedom from the tempter’s ruthlessness.
All things happen as per the Word of God;
He is the Almighty, our Creator;
A soul that’s dead in sins can’t praise the Lord;
God is a Friend, our Guide and our Mentor.
The Lord has eyes to see our every act;
Our God has ears to hear our every call;
With man alone, He has offered a pact,
To raise him up if ever should he fall.
Our life on earth shall pass in just moments!
So, let us live our days with God’s prudence.
poem by John Celes
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The foundation of empire is art and science. Remove them or degrade them, and the empire is no more. Empire follows art and not vice versa as Englishmen suppose.
quote by William Blake
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sign Of The Cross
Eleven saintly shrouded men
silhouettes stand against the sky
one in front with a cross held high
come to wash my sins away
Standing alone in the wind and rain
feeling the fear that is growing
Sensing the change in the tide again
brought by the storm that is brewing
Feel the anxiety hold off the fear
some of the doubt in the things you believe
Now that your faith will be put to the test
nothing to do but await what is coming
Why is then God still protecting me
even when I don't deserve it?
Though I am blessed with an inner strenght
some they would call it a penance
Why am I meant to face this alone
asking the question time and again
Praying to God won't keep me alive
Inside my head feel the fear start to rise...
They'll be saving their prayers when the moment comes
there'll be penance to pay when it's judgement day
And the guilty'll bleed when that moment comes
they'll be coming to claim
song performed by by Iron Maiden
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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7 Deadly Sins
7 seven deadly sins
Thats how the world begins
Watch out when you step in
For seven deadly sins
Seven deadly sins
Thats when the fun begins
(seven deadly sins)
(sin number one) was when you left me
(sin number two) you said goodbye
(sin number three) was when you told me a little white lie
Seven deadly sins
Once it starts, it never ends (seven deadly sins)
Watch out aroung the bend (seven deadly sins)
A seven deadly sins (seven deadly sins)
(sin number four) was when you looked my way
(sin number five) was when you smiled
(sin number six) was when you let me stay
Sin number seven was when you touched me and told me why
Seven deadly sins
So many rules to bend
Time and time again
Seven deadly sins
Seven deadly sins
(seven deadly sins)
(seven deadly sins)
(seven deadly sins)
Seven deadly sins
Thats how the world begins (seven deadly sins)
Watch out when you step in (seven deadly sins)
For seven deadly sins
Seven (seven) seven (seven) seven (seven) seven (deadly sins)
song performed by by George Harrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Vast Empire And Fallen Throne.
A vast empire surrounds us
But we stand with the fallen throne and
Confounded and crestfallen we are.
Our empire of amasses; not of accumulations!
Our empire of ownership; not of master-hood!
Our empire of intelligence; not of erudition!
The throne lies down with its jewels gone,
It lies at our feet and none can pick it up.
We feel on our skull the shame of past.
Our throne of civilisation; not of progress!
Our throne of peace; not of harmony!
Our throne of diamonds; not of copper
The empire will swell and explode next
And our throne will lie buried ever.
The empire will thereafter turn into a planet of its own
And go on the orbit of might and moss and
Our throne will join the fossils down deep!
The ides of the present remain told aloud!
poem by M.d Dinesh Nair
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Shut Me Out
Pressure cooker about to explode
the ignorant ones are litenin' to fools
radical factions add fuel to the fire
to satisfy their hateful desire
We as the innocent suffer the most
paying for crimes we did not commit
here to serve penance for history's sins
detested for something we've never been
All their grandstands
song performed by by Sick Of It All from Just Look Around
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sins and pleasure
Pleasure of sins lures me to sin.
Sins of pleasure follow me in.
I sow sins to harvest pleasure
And sow pleasure to harvest sins.
Virtues might promise me pleasure
But it is sins that assure of it.
Sins are the food meant for senses.
Virtues are the food made of ego.
I do sins to derive pleasure
And then repent to cleanse my soul.
Virtues I stay with; sins I flirt with.
29.03.2007
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
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Our Sins
Our sins are leading us away from the truth!
Our sins are causing all the troubles in this world,
Our sins are bringing about all these wars around us,
Our sins have torn us apart from love! !
And, we now hate each other in this world.
Glabal warming! !
And, it is all because of our sins;
Our sins have really destroyed everything around us.
Just watch the news!
Just listen to your neihbour!
Just look around you!
Just see how much hatred is being expressed among us!
Our sins have torn us apart from love.
Scenes, sins!
Of the scenes of life full of many troubles;
All in the name of our sins.
The Creator, whose Original Name is Yahweh,
Created us all with true love in many colours;
But, our sins have led us to hate each other on this earth.
Famine, disaster, sickness, accident, drought!
And all the global warming seen around us;
Are all caused by our sins because,
We failed to follow the Laws of Yahweh.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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The Reoccurring Dream
PENANCE CRANE:
The pirate anchored on a Wednesday
And why he came to port I wonder
To see a lady so my friends say
She dances for the sailors
In a smoky cabaret bar underground
Down in a cellar in a harbor town
I know he told her love was treasure
And they would reap the fullest bounty
He only comes to port for pleasure
So when the winds of morning
Blew the curtains in she woke and found he'd gone
I saw his sails unfurling Thursday dawn
The pirate he will sink you with a kiss
He'll steal your heart and sail away
THE DANCER:
Saturday early we met in the cove near the forest
PENANCE:
He'll leave you drowning in the flotsam Of a broken promise in the bay
THE DANCER:
(Dancing we wakened the dawn and the birds into chorus)
PENANCE:
He came again to see her
Yes I think they told me it was Saturday
THE DANCER:
(Ask Penance Crane she was out in her garden she saw us)
PENANCE:
I was at sea then
I didn't see them
I don't believe what you are saying
It isn't true I hardly knew him
Is this some game that you are playing
Go ask the dancer she's the one who saw him last
The one who drew him here
He hasn't come to me since spring last year
There was a time when he would
Bring me silks and sandalwood and Persian lace
THE DANCER:
(Then came another
song performed by by Joni Mitchell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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All comparisons between America's current place in the world and anything legitimately called an empire in the past reveal ignorance and confusion about any reasonable meaning of the concept empire, especially the comparison with the Roman Empire.
quote by Donald Kagan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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