The voice I have now, I got the first time I sang in a movement meeting, after I got out of jail... and I'd never heard it before in my life.
quote by Bernice Johnson Reagon

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes

The Voice
One feather is a bird,
I claim; one tree, a wood;
In her low voice I heard
More than a mortal should;
And so I stood apart,
Hidden in my own heart.
And yet I roamed out where
Those notes went, like the bird,
Whose thin song hung in air,
Diminished, yet still heard:
I lived with open sound,
Aloft, and on the ground.
That ghost was my own choice,
The shy cerulean bird;
It sang with her true voice,
And it was I who heard
A slight voice reply;
I heard; and only I.
Desire exults the ear:
Bird, girl, and ghostly tree,
The earth, the solid air--
Their slow song sang in me;
The long noon pulsed away,
Like any summer day.
poem by Theodore Roethke

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Waiting
The song I came to sing
remains unsung to this day.
I have spent my days in stringing
and in unstringing my instrument.
The time has not come true,
the words have not been rightly set;
only there is the agony
of wishing in my heart…..
I have not seen his face,
nor have I listened to his voice;
only I have heard his gentle footsteps
from the road before my house…..
But the lamp has not been lit
and I cannot ask him into my house;
I live in the hope of meeting with him;
but this meeting is not yet.
poem by Rabindranath Tagore

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Dead, Jail, Or Rock 'n Roll
When I was a kid all I wanted to be
Was the meanest dude on the meanest machine
Now I'm going to wrong way on a one-way street
I never fit this society
I don't really mind
Doing my own time
The three choices I ever came to find
Were:Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
I ain't looking for trouble but it's looking for me
The law of the jungle is protecting me
Lose sleep man stay out of your bed
You might wind up in jail if you lose your head
In death I might find
True peace of mind
But while I'm alive
Free choice is mine
It's either:Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
I don't really mind
Doing my own time
The three choices I ever came to find
Were either:Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
song performed by by Warrant

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Dead, Jail, Or Rock 'n Roll
When I was a kid all I wanted to be
Was the meanest dude on the meanest machine
Now I'm going to wrong way on a one-way street
I never fit this society
I don't really mind
Doing my own time
The three choices I ever came to find
Were:Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
I ain't looking for trouble but it's looking for me
The law of the jungle is protecting me
Lose sleep man stay out of your bed
You might wind up in jail if you lose your head
In death I might find
True peace of mind
But while I'm alive
Free choice is mine
It's either:Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
I don't really mind
Doing my own time
The three choices I ever came to find
Were either:Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll
song performed by by Warrant

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Poet's Song
I HID in the world and sang,
And I sang so loud and long
That all the ages rang
With the music of my song.
I sang of the earth and sky,
5
I sang of the whispering seas,
I sang of the mountains high,
And I sang of the flowers and trees;
I sang of the early spring,
I sang of the dawning day,
10
I sang, for I had to sing
As the young lambs have to play;
Till heaven and earth were ringing,
And all the people heard,
And they said, "We love his singing,
15
For his song is the song of the bird."
poem by Frederick George Scott

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Song Unsung
The song that I came to sing remains unsung to this day.
I have spent my days in stringing and in unstringing my instrument.
The time has not come true, the words have not been rightly set;
only there is the agony of wishing in my heart.
The blossom has not opened; only the wind is sighing by.
I have not seen his face, nor have I listened to his voice;
only I have heard his gentle footsteps from the road before my house.
The livelong day has passed in spreading his seat on the floor;
but the lamp has not been lit and I cannot ask him into my house.
I live in the hope of meeting with him; but this meeting is not yet.
poem by Rabindranath Tagore

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Holloway Jail
They took my baby, to holloway jail,
They took my baby, down holloway jail,
She was a lady, when she went in,
Now shes in jail, and its giving me hell.
She was succeeding in the city,
She was just beginning to excel,
Then a spiv named frankie simes
Led her to a life of crime,
And led her on the downward trail.
Frankie came home late from work one evening,
The c.l.d. were hot on his trail,
Frankie promised everything,
And then he went and turned her in,
She went and took the rap for him,
Now shes impaled in holloway jail.
They took my baby, down holloway jail,
They took my baby, to holloway jail,
There aint no pity, there aint no bail,
And she assures me that its living hell.
She was young and ever so pretty,
Now she looks so old and pale,
She never sees the day,
She wastes her life away,
Sitting in that prison cell.
They took my baby to holloway jail,
They took my baby, down holloway jail,
She was a lady when she went in,
Now shes in jail, and its giving me hell.
Shes impaled, in holloway jail.
song performed by by Kinks

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Meeting Again
Meeting again when time goes fast,
meeting again when time won't last.
A look at the wrist to check the time,
a glance in the mirror to see if I'm
alright from this.
Already I miss the time that will crawl.
Keep the memory alive. You must not fall
into a saddened, depressed state.
You will continue to wait and wait
for a meeting again when time goes fast,
a meeting again that will not last.
poem by Edwina Reizer

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Skylark
'It is the skylark come.' For shame!
Robert-a-Cockney is thy name:
Robert-a-Field would surely know
That skylarks, bless them, never go!
* * *
Love of my life, bear witness here
How we have heard them all the year;
How to the skylark's song are set
The days we never can forget.
At Rustington, do you remember?
We heard the skylarks in December;
In January above the snow
They sang to us by Hurstmonceux
Once in the keenest airs of March
We heard them near the Marble Arch;
Their April song thrilled Tonbridge air;
May found them singing everywhere;
And oh, in Sheppey, how their tune
Rhymed with the bean-flower scent in June.
One unforgotten day at Rye
They sang a love-song in July;
In August, hard by Lewes town,
They sang of joy 'twixt sky and down;
And in September's golden spell
We heard them singing on Scaw Fell.
October's leaves were brown and sere,
But skylarks sang by Teston Weir;
And in November, at Mount's Bay,
They sang upon our wedding day!
* * *
Mr.-a-Field, go forth, go forth,
Go east and west and south and north;
You'll always find the furze in flower,
Find every hour the lovers' hour,
And, by my faith in love and rhyme,
The skylark singing all the time!
poem by Edith Nesbit

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
What If
(diane warren)
Sometimes I dont understand.
Feels like Im living in a world gone mad.
Look around, all around its just the same.
People just rush everywhere.
No time to ever take the time to care.
Were the ones.
Were the losers in this game.
So where is the tenderness we scarifice for progress.
And where is the love we need.
You know it makes me wonder.
What if everybody, what if everybody reached out with just one hand (reached with just one hand).
What if everybody, what if everybody sang out with just one voice (sang with just one voice).
Maybe we could change things.
What if everybody, what if everybody cared with just one heart (cared with their own heart).
What if everybody, what if everybody tried to light one spark (tried to light one spark).
Maybe we could change things somehow.
Somehow its all up to us.
Gotta take this world, make it a world of love.
Gotta do it now.
Gotta find a way to make a change somehow.
Theres gotta be a way for us to make it better.
What if everybody, what if everybody reached out with just one hand (reached with just one hand).
What if everybody, what if everybody sang out with just one voice (sang with just one voice).
Maybe we could change things.
What if everybody, what if everybody cared with just one heart (cared with their own heart).
What if everybody, what if everybody tried to light one spark (tried to light one spark).
Maybe we could change things somehow.
Here in our hearts.
Oh the answer is there.
If we only would look inside them.
We can make it better, we can make it better...if we try together.
What if everybody, what if everybody reached out with just one hand (reached with just one hand).
What if everybody, what if everybody sang out with just one voice (sang with just one voice).
Maybe we could change things.
What if everybody, what if everybody cared with just one heart (cared with their own heart).
What if everybody, what if everybody tried to light one spark (tried to light one spark).
Maybe we could change things somehow
song performed by by Reba Mcentire

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
One Time At Band Camp
I’ll always remember the day
I was writing in my notebook
Alone in the woods by our bunks
I was already thinking of you
Contemplating ways to be near you
Searching for an excuse to talk to you
I heard I twig snap behind me and looked
You laughed and said you were trying not to be conspicuous
I was still so nervous around you but I laughed and smiled at you
Just because I was nervous didn’t mean I couldn’t flirt
You had your guitar case in your hand and sat on the bench across from me
I laid on my stomach, facing you and I watched as you tuned
After a day of marching the slight breeze was welcomed
And the rustling of the leaves around us added to the moment
With your guitar tuned and my full attention you began to play
I was captivated by your voice and amazed by your playing ability
You sang of heart break
You sang of hope
You sang of lost love
You sang of days long since passed
You sang songs that meant a lot to you
You sang songs that you wrote
You captured my heart; even before that day
From that day forth we continued our odd status
So much more than friends
But never quite lovers
Now you are with someone who can make you happy
As am I
But I will always cherish those moments we shared
One time at band camp
poem by Brittney Wilhoit

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Rising Sun Blues
When I heard 'Rising Sun Blues'
for the very first time
I was twelve years old.
When I first heard
its mystical sounds
it was like a bomb blown up
somewhere
in the deep of my soul
and broke my heart to the tiniest pieces.
When I first heard
'The House of the Rising Sun'
I couldn't help crying
and wept so bitterly with all my heart.
And I didn't realize the reason of my tears.
And then
I picked up my dad's old guitar
and sang this song to feel it
again and again.
It was my first love that I
first sang with my guitar.
I have come with it through all my life.
And there were so many songs in it!
But none of them
could even compare with her.
And I will remain faithful to her
till the very end as only a man
can be faithful
to the very first kiss and the very first love
which is so similar
to the genuine rising sun
that never sets down.
poem by Igor Grey Balatsky

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Melody
Melody
By: Adam M. Snow
O' Melody, names like the angel's song;
music swaying around thine love
but of thy love my days be long;
O' my Melody, sang my song.
I long to hear thy voice, thy angelic voice
soothes away my hearts desire.
But it be that of love's choice
echoing upon thy voice.
Can thee forever love a lonely man such as I,
or do thee live on knowing not that of love,
or do thee walk passed and curse myself to die?
This feeling, this love O' Melody I cannot deny.
Let me hear thy choir of thy song;
a voice so deep calming the soul.
Let thy voice and passion be strong;
O' my Melody, sang my song.
Sing; let thy voice be heard across the Earth.
Let it pierce thy shadows.
Let the world see a new found birth
and the wonders its worth.
O' Melody, a song I longed after
to cleanse my immortal soul,
to feel the joy and laughter
and be with you hereafter.
O' Melody, names like the angel's song;
music swaying around thine love
but of thy love my days be long;
O' my Melody, sang my song.
O' Melody, play thy music for I love thee.
Thy lyrics be true thy heart,
Thy song be thy key
to set all souls free.
Let me hear thy choir of thy song;
a voice so deep calming the soul.
Let thy voice and passion be strong;
O' my Melody, sang my song.
poem by Adam M. Snow

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Chanteuse
The chanteuse chased melodies-
Her voice rubbed elbows -
With a guitar with broken frets-
In-sync with the Clubs Bass-
She sang-
She sang to the guitar-
Raising her voice to higher notes-
Of Life:
Lived-
Long-
Loudly she resonated-
Lyrically harmonic-
Listening for an off key-
Lending an ear to-
Lungs in full breath-A
Libretto in the making...
poem by Theodora Onken

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

The Idea of Order at Key West
She sang beyond the genius of the sea.
The water never formed to mind or voice,
Like a body wholly body, fluttering
Its empty sleeves; and yet its mimic motion
Made constant cry, caused constantly a cry,
That was not ours although we understood,
Inhuman, of the veritable ocean.
The sea was not a mask. No more was she.
The song and water were not medleyed sound
Even if what she sang was what she heard,
Since what she sang was uttered word by word.
It may be that in all her phrases stirred
The grinding water and the gasping wind;
But it was she and not the sea we heard.
For she was the maker of the song she sang.
The ever-hooded, tragic-gestured sea
Was merely a place by which she walked to sing.
Whose spirit is this? we said, because we knew
It was the spirit that we sought and knew
That we should ask this often as she sang.
If it was only the dark voice of the sea
That rose, or even colored by many waves;
If it was only the outer voice of sky
And cloud, of the sunken coral water-walled,
However clear, it would have been deep air,
The heaving speech of air, a summer sound
Repeated in a summer without end
And sound alone. But it was more than that,
More even than her voice, and ours, among
The meaningless plungings of water and the wind,
Theatrical distances, bronze shadows heaped
On high horizons, mountainous atmospheres
Of sky and sea.
It was her voice that made
The sky acutest at its vanishing.
She measured to the hour its solitude.
She was the single artificer of the world
In which she sang. And when she sang, the sea,
Whatever self it had, became the self
That was her song, for she was the maker. Then we,
As we beheld her striding there alone,
Knew that there never was a world for her
Except the one she sang and, singing, made.
Ramon Fernandez, tell me, if you know,
Why, when the singing ended and we turned
Toward the town, tell why the glassy lights,
The lights in the fishing boats at anchor there,
As the night descended, tilting in the air,
Mastered the night and portioned out the sea,
Fixing emblazoned zones and fiery poles,
Arranging, deepening, enchanting night.
Oh! Blessed rage for order, pale Ramon,
The maker’s rage to order words of the sea,
Words of the fragrant portals, dimly-starred,
And of ourselves and of our origins,
In ghostlier demarcations, keener sounds.
poem by Wallace Stevens

Submitted by Dan Costinaş
Vote! | Copy! | In Romanian
What For Them Was Isn't
What for them was isn't.
Like the taste of a lollipop,
That has faded from one's memory.
The activity is remembered.
But the flavor of it is gone.
And many are trying to hold onto it.
With a savor craved...
That brings them to the edge,
Of a tantrum fit!
Since what sits in their minds from yesterday,
Hasn't for them really gone away.
They want it returned!
They want it to stay!
They feel betrayed by an enslavement made!
What for them 'was'
ISN'T anymore.
Or will be again.
For anyone else to be explored!
Those heard droaning in a whining moan...
Are lost and locked in a consciousness,
Soon to be all their own.
What for them was isn't.
It's never coming back!
That's a fact they wished attacked.
But from a clock that has stopped its tick tocking...
The hands on it sit!
And there is no movement witnessed from this.
There is no movement witnessed from this.
And there is no movement witnessed from this.
There is no movement witnessed from this.
No movement,
Is witnessed from this!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Love Is So Hard, Life Is So Simple
Love is so hard
For whom?
For the ones that lost a loved one
By a murder
And for the criminal
Life is easy
Because all he does is seat in jail
While we pay to keep him in jail
But to be honest it is better to have a murder in jail
Than in the streets
Does the murder have any simpathy for the person he killed?
No
poem by Aldo Kraas

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ill Be There
I heard the voice of redemption
For me there is no exemption
I started praying
I heard the voice of satisfaction
Needing me for benefaction
I started pleading
I heard the bells begin to chime
Warning me oh lord
Dont let this be my time
Dont let this be my time
Ill be there for you, when you walk through the fire
Ill be there for you, when the flames get higher
When nothing fits and nothing seems right
Till the very last breath of my life, Ill be there for you
You saw me slide, you saw me fall
We kept our pride through it all
We started screaming
When skies are dark, no sun shines through
I know I see the light in you
We stopped dreaming and started believing
Ill be there for you, when you walk through the fire
Ill be there for you, when the flames get higher
When nothing fits and nothing seems right
Till the very last breath of my life, Ill be there for you
Ill be there
In my hour of need
You were there always
Now its time for me to be there for you too
Always
Ill be there for you
song performed by by Megadeth

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Small Children in Prison
'I only steal from the rich
Not from the poor,
I steal because I am hungry',
said the nine year old boy
as he was interviewed in jail.
Imprisoned for crimes
like stealing food to appease
hunger in the tummy,
Etsoy and others are caged like animals
sharing a pot of rice among
11 or 15 in-mates three times a day.
Mixed with adult criminals
charged with heinous crimes,
here they are in jail without pencil,
books, crayons and oil lamp,
Here they dread going to sleep,
scared of being raped.
And they look at the high fences
of concrete walls,
invincible by their bare hands
Here are fences that blind their eyes
from seeing the meeting point
between earth and sky.
Here are walls that deny them
to gaze at the sea, the boats,
the jeepneys, the ships and passers-by,
the birds perching on trees
and the rice fields at harvest time.
Yes, Etsoy and many more
Etsoys are in this jail
imprisoned, imprisoned
behind these high impenetrable walls.
Yes, the small children like Etsoy
behind these concrete walls.
are only called by numbers
or nicknames for who dare
to know their precious names?
Behind these high concrete walls
they are forgotten,
denied of their childhood and life.
And this prison
is their own
university of life.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Exodus (Laswell Mix)
[Bob Marley]
Exodus: Movement of Jah people! Oh-oh-oh, yea-eah!
.......
Men and people will fight ya down (Tell me why!)
When ya see Jah light. (Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!)
Let me tell you if you're not wrong; (Then, why?)
Everything is all right.
So we gonna walk - all right! - through de roads of creation:
We the generation (Tell me why!)
(Trod through great tribulation) trod through great tribulation.
Exodus, all right! Movement of Jah people!
Oh, yeah! O-oo, yeah! All right!
Exodus: Movement of Jah people! Oh, yeah!
Yeah-yeah-yeah, well!
Uh! Open your eyes and look within:
Are you satisfied (with the life you're living)? Uh!
We know where we're going, uh!
We know where we're from.
We're leaving Babylon,
We're going to our Father land.
2, 3, 4: Exodus: movement of Jah people! Oh, yeah!
(Movement of Jah people!) Send us another brother Moses!
(Movement of Jah people!) From across the Red Sea!
(Movement of Jah people!) Send us another brother Moses!
(Movement of Jah people!) From across the Red Sea!
Movement of Jah people!
---
/Instrumental break/
---
Exodus, all right! Oo-oo-ooh! Oo-ooh!
Movement of Jah people! Oh, yeah!
Exodus!
Exodus! All right!
Exodus! Now, now, now, now!
Exodus!
Exodus! Oh, yea-ea-ea-ea-ea-ea-eah!
Exodus!
Exodus! All right!
Exodus! Uh-uh-uh-uh!
Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move!
Open your eyes and look within:
Are you satisfied with the life you're living?
We know where we're going;
We know where we're from.
We're leaving Babylon, y'all!
We're going to our Father's land.
Exodus, all right! Movement of Jah people!
Exodus: movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move!
Jah come to break downpression,
Rule equality,
Wipe away transgression,
Set the captives free.
Exodus, all right, all right!
Movement of Jah people! Oh, yeah!
Exodus: movement of Jah people! Oh, now, now, now, now!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Uh-uh-uh-uh!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Move(ment of Jah people)! Movement of Jah people!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
song performed by by Bob Marley

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!